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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 116 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: drill · tear · staff · degree · vault · face · fine · prune

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fine — all right
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. drill — a practice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. staff — employees
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. vault — a safe
  14. degree — an amount
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. staff — a stick
  17. prune — to trim
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. tear — to rip
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — army training
  22. fine — high quality
  23. drill — the tool
  24. face — to confront

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