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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.

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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: bark · mine · key · squash · vault · rule · degree · wind

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. squash — the sport
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — moving air
  15. key — in music
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bark — to shout
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rule — a law
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wind — moving air
  24. vault — a safe

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