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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: date · cold · cue · court · suit · trunk · vault · degree

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — temperature
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. degree — an amount
  5. suit — to fit
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. suit — clothes
  9. degree — from a university
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. vault — a safe
  16. suit — in cards
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cue — a hint
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cue — for pool

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