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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: racket · press · degree · cell · spring · cap · vault · scale

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. press — to push
  8. cap — a lid
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — of water
  12. cell — in biology
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cell — a phone
  16. scale — size or range
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. scale — in music
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — temperature
  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