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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 · chair · drill · chest · hand · foot · net · vault

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. hand — help
  5. chair — a leader
  6. drill — a practice
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — army training
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hand — in cards
  18. vault — a safe
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. net — in sport
  21. chest — a box
  22. drill — the tool
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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