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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: pit · content · march · mine · nail · degree · fine · vault

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mine — for digging
  6. march — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — the amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. march — the month
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. content — happy
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fine — all right
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pit — in a race
  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