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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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Word bank
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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: object · degree · perch · chest · vault · march

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. object — to protest
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — a thing
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. degree — from a university
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — the fish
  10. march — music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. object — an aim
  13. vault — a safe
  14. chest — a box
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chest — of your body

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