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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: spring · vault · arm · cold · stand · foot · pitcher · degree

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spring — the season
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. degree — temperature
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — from a university
  14. foot — a measure
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. spring — a coil
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spring — of water
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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