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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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468
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: degree · stock · lean · bass · chip · vault · mate · lash

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. lean — thin
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bass — low music
  6. mate — to breed
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. chip — for betting
  12. stock — goods
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stock — shares

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