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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 · degree · tear · pitcher · key · racket

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. key — the most important part
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — a safe
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — temperature
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tear — to rip

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