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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: degree · key · staff · vault · board · cold · wave · swing

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — not warm
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — an illness
  6. staff — a stick
  7. key — the most important part
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — temperature
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. degree — an amount
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. swing — music
  16. key — in music
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. swing — to play on
  19. key — for a lock
  20. board — a committee
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. board — to get on

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