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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: vault · degree · track · cell · stock · wind · can · perch

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. wind — moving air
  3. can — a tin
  4. track — a song
  5. stock — goods
  6. can — to be able to
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stock — shares
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cell — a phone
  14. track — a path
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. can — a tin
  24. track — to keep track

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