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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: wound · root · vault · fork · cap · fine · degree · wax

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — all right
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fork — in a road
  20. root — of a word
  21. cap — a lid
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cap — a hat
  24. root — the cause

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