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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: cold · degree · firm · calf · lean · saw · vault · wake

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. cold — an illness
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — from a university
  11. firm — a company
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. wake — a trail
  23. calf — a young animal
  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