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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: vault · chair · straw · degree · key · firm

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. firm — decided
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. chair — a leader
  9. degree — temperature
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. degree — an amount
  12. firm — a company
  13. vault — a safe
  14. key — for a lock
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. firm — steady

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