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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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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: bat · bear · prune · present · bore · vault · patient · degree

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bore — to tire
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. present — a gift
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. present — there
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. present — the time now
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. degree — temperature
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — from a university

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