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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 116 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: degree · cue · clip · vault · key · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cue — a hint
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — for pool
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. clip — a video
  16. cue — a signal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. key — in music

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