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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: pop · degree · cell · vault · rock · chest

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pop — to visit
  4. rock — a stone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rock — music
  7. chest — a box
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. pop — soda
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — music
  18. degree — temperature

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