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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 120 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: kick · wake · cell · rest · vault · tear · dip · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. dip — to sink
  3. wake — a trail
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cell — a phone
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. kick — in football
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — what's left
  23. vault — a safe
  24. degree — an amount

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