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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: toast · fall · degree · tear · vault · pitcher

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fall — to drop
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tear — from crying

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