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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: fork · stock · vault · lie · degree · tear

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. fork — in a road
  6. degree — an amount
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — from a university
  14. lie — to recline
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stock — goods

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