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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: vault · present · nail · wake · degree · pitcher · pit · ground

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. present — a gift
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — a trail
  24. degree — an amount

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