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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: rash · vault · kick · cell · degree · hand · safe · drill

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. kick — in football
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. hand — in cards
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. hand — help
  9. rash — hasty
  10. degree — an amount
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. cell — a phone
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. degree — from a university
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. drill — army training
  19. rash — a series
  20. vault — a safe
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. drill — the tool
  24. degree — temperature

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