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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 116 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: cue · shower · degree · fan · game · vault · lean · kid

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cue — a signal
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. shower — rain
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cue — for pool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. game — wild animals
  23. shower — to wash
  24. degree — from a university

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