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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 · staff · court · snap · toast · calf · stock · degree

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. vault — a safe
  5. staff — employees
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. stock — shares
  8. snap — to click
  9. staff — employees
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. staff — a stick
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stock — goods
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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