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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: cap · vault · degree · arm · capital · bound · leaves · chest

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cap — a hat
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bound — obliged
  9. capital — money
  10. chest — a box
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cap — of ice
  14. vault — a safe
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — a lid
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. chest — of your body

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