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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: ground · press · vault · wave · straw · degree · tube · chest

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chest — a box
  12. ground — a position
  13. tube — the underground
  14. press — newspapers
  15. ground — crushed
  16. press — to push
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. tube — a container
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. degree — from a university
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — an amount
  24. straw — dry grass

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