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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: vault · degree · club · racket · fan · clip · key · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. key — for a lock
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — a video
  12. pit — in a race
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. club — a group
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pit — a hole
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — temperature
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. club — for golf
  24. clip — to cut

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