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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cap — of ice
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wax — to grow
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mark — a trace
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tear — from crying

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