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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 116 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: vault · content · degree · cabinet · ball · hand · tear · firm

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a great time
  3. firm — decided
  4. content — the amount
  5. hand — help
  6. degree — an amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. hand — in cards
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. ball — a dance
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tear — to rip
  17. degree — from a university
  18. firm — a company
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. content — happy
  21. firm — steady
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tear — from crying
  24. vault — a safe

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