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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: firm · wind · stem · kid · vault · cue · degree · fall

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — from a university
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. firm — steady
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — child
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fall — the season
  17. firm — decided
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — temperature
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wind — to turn a key

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