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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.

Words on the sheet
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: land · bass · game · vault · clip · key · degree · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. degree — an amount
  6. key — in music
  7. land — a country
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — a video
  10. game — a match
  11. key — for a lock
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bass — the fish
  14. drill — army training
  15. land — to come down
  16. degree — from a university
  17. land — ground
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. key — the most important part
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — temperature
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. clip — for paper
  24. game — wild animals

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