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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: degree · mate · vault · safe · cold · present · pop · branch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. present — there
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. degree — an amount
  5. present — the time now
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. degree — temperature
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pop — music
  19. branch — a division
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. cold — not warm
  22. vault — a safe
  23. present — a gift
  24. branch — of a tree

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