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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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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: vault · degree · kid · fine · band · pass · row · mate

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fine — all right
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — a partner
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mate — a friend
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. band — a music group
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fine — high quality
  14. vault — a safe
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. degree — an amount
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. kid — to tease
  24. band — a ring

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