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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: tear · vault · spell · pass · degree · wound · stem · firm

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. degree — from a university
  3. firm — steady
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — magic
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spell — a short time
  12. degree — temperature
  13. tear — from crying
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. firm — a company
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — a permit
  20. firm — decided
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tear — to rip

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