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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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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: rule · degree · swing · shower · vault · pitch · cue · lean

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — a law
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — rain
  5. degree — an amount
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. swing — in golf
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cue — a signal
  13. lean — thin
  14. cue — a hint
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. pitch — completely
  17. vault — a safe
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rule — government
  24. lean — to rest against

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