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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · court · vault · stock · key · degree · fork · shower

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stock — goods
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. court — of a king
  20. fork — in a road
  21. court — for sport
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. court — of law

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