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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 116 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: can · wake · degree · kid · calf · bat · scale · vault

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. degree — from a university
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. kid — to tease
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wake — a trail
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. can — a tin
  14. scale — in music
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. kid — child
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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