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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: vault · mate · degree · bark · stem · chest

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. chest — a box
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. vault — a safe
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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