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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: bowl · patient · degree · vault · dip · stem · capital · trunk

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. dip — to sink
  5. capital — a city
  6. degree — from a university
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. capital — money
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. vault — a safe
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — to come from
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stem — a stem cell

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