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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 · root · degree · track · cold · bound · bay · court

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. degree — temperature
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bound — certain
  8. degree — an amount
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — for sport
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bound — tied together
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. root — of a plant
  17. court — of law
  18. bound — obliged
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — an illness
  22. root — the cause
  23. track — a path
  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