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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: hand · shower · degree · cue · content · charge · bark · vault

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. content — happy
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. degree — from a university
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. charge — in control
  9. hand — help
  10. bark — to shout
  11. shower — rain
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — in cards
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. shower — to wash
  17. vault — a safe
  18. content — the amount
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cue — a hint
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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