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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: arm · march · bore · degree · pitcher · kid · game · vault

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bore — to tire
  6. kid — child
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. march — the month
  11. game — wild animals
  12. degree — an amount
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. march — music
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bore — to drill
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — gave birth

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