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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: court · lean · face · club · wound · degree · fine · vault

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. face — to point toward
  3. lean — to bend
  4. degree — temperature
  5. court — for sport
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. lean — thin
  8. court — of law
  9. fine — all right
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of a king
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — for golf
  17. fine — high quality
  18. club — for dancing
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. club — a group
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — part of the head

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