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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: rock · degree · vault · jam · cabinet · band · kid · stock

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. band — a ring
  10. rock — a stone
  11. stock — goods
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — a safe
  14. band — a music group
  15. kid — to tease
  16. degree — temperature
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. degree — from a university
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. jam — in traffic

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