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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: degree · vault · root · squash · bay · last · jam · wax

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. degree — an amount
  3. vault — a safe
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. squash — the sport
  7. last — finally
  8. root — the cause
  9. degree — temperature
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. root — of a word
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. squash — to crush
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. last — to go on
  22. wax — to grow
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. root — of a plant

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