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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 120 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: mate · vault · pitch · craft · mine · degree

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. craft — boats
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mine — for digging
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — an amount
  10. vault — a safe
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mate — a partner
  16. craft — a skill
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pitch — completely

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