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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: tube · wind · race · vault · degree · branch

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. vault — a safe
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — a container
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. race — the arms race
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. race — humankind
  14. tube — the underground
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. race — a contest
  18. degree — from a university

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