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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: craft · cabinet · chest · spring · vault · degree

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. craft — boats
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spring — the season
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. chest — a box
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — temperature
  14. vault — a safe
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — of water
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cabinet — ministers

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