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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · stand · kick · snap · tube · degree · vault · band

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. band — a music group
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. tube — a container
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. vault — a safe
  13. tube — the underground
  14. degree — from a university
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stand — to bear
  17. kick — in football
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com