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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: rash · vault · cap · degree · chair · face · racket · mug

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mug — a face
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — hasty
  9. face — to confront
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cap — a hat
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rash — a series
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mug — a cup
  20. degree — an amount
  21. face — to point toward
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. face — part of the head

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