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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 116 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: stem · tear · squash · racket · cap · degree · lean · vault

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lean — to bend
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cap — of ice
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lean — thin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cap — a lid
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — the sport
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cap — a hat
  21. squash — to crush
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stem — 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