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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 · land · wake · cue · chair · drill · degree · jam

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. land — a country
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. degree — temperature
  6. land — ground
  7. drill — army training
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chair — a leader
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. drill — the tool
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. wake — a trail
  15. degree — an amount
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. land — to come down
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cue — a signal
  24. drill — a practice

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