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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: tube · wind · race · vault · degree · branch · hand · key

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — the most important part
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. hand — help
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wind — moving air
  15. race — a contest
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. key — for a lock
  19. degree — from a university
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. branch — a division
  22. key — in music
  23. race — humankind
  24. branch — of a bank

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