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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: shower · bowl · swing · hide · march · degree · vault · kick

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. swing — to play on
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. kick — in football
  7. shower — to wash
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — rain
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. swing — music
  15. march — music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. march — the month
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. degree — from a university
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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