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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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468
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: degree · bear · file · net · fine · bat · vault · content

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — an amount
  5. file — a document
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. file — a tool
  9. fine — all right
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. content — happy
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fine — high quality
  14. file — a line of people
  15. degree — from a university
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. net — in sport
  18. bear — the animal
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — temperature
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. content — the amount
  23. bat — the animal
  24. net — for catching

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