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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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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 · lean · wind · vault · bear · pitcher · club · tube

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tube — a container
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tube — the underground
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lean — to bend
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bear — the animal

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