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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · stock · fine · spring · degree · key · vault · cap

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. key — the most important part
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — the season
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stock — goods
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — of water
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stock — shares
  15. fine — high quality
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — all right
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. spring — a coil
  24. degree — an amount

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