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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: chip · vault · arm · court · degree · rash · kid · spring

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. kid — child
  7. rash — hasty
  8. spring — a coil
  9. court — for sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. court — of law
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chip — to eat
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rash — a series
  21. chip — for betting
  22. spring — of water
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. court — of a king

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