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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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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: bowl · wake · vault · pitcher · press · degree · court · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pop — to visit
  8. court — for sport
  9. press — to push
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. court — of law
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. vault — a safe
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. press — newspapers
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of a king
  24. pop — soda

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