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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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Word bank
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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: degree · kid · deal · rush · cabinet · chest · vault · hand

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — to handle
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — child
  9. degree — an amount
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. hand — in cards
  18. degree — temperature
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. chest — a box
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hand — part of the body

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