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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 120 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: vault · bulb · stem · coach · kid · plane · degree · capital

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bulb — for light
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — a safe
  7. capital — a city
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. degree — from a university
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. degree — an amount
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. kid — child
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — to come from
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. plane — a tool

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