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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 120 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: patient · staff · stock · straw · bass · degree · fall · vault

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fall — the season
  3. stock — goods
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. staff — employees
  10. stock — shares
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. staff — employees
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bass — low music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. fall — to drop
  20. vault — a safe
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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