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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 · band · degree · press · lash · stem

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. degree — an amount
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. band — a music group
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — newspapers
  18. degree — from a university

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