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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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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: racket · bulb · cap · stock · degree · fall · vault · wax

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stock — shares
  3. wax — to grow
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cap — a lid
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cap — of ice
  11. fall — to drop
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stock — goods
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bulb — for light
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. fall — the season
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. degree — temperature
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bulb — for light

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