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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: degree · root · chair · stem · fall · sharp · calf · vault

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. root — of a word
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. sharp — clever
  8. root — of a plant
  9. degree — temperature
  10. root — the cause
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fall — the season
  23. chair — a leader
  24. stem — to come from

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