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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 · stick · squash · drill · degree · wind

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. squash — to crush
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. drill — a practice
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. squash — the sport
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — temperature
  18. drill — army training

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