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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: club · wind · vault · craft · degree · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. club — for golf
  3. bound — obliged
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. craft — boats
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bound — tied together
  9. degree — from a university
  10. club — a group
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a skill
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. wind — moving air

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