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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 120 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: lean · degree · pit · mark · scale · chest · march · vault

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. degree — temperature
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. vault — a safe
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — from a university
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — of your body
  18. scale — in music
  19. chest — a box
  20. mark — a grade
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pit — in a race

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