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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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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: prune · vault · stem · kid · suit · kick · press · degree

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. stem — to come from
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. press — a publisher
  7. suit — in cards
  8. degree — from a university
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. vault — a safe
  12. suit — clothes
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. suit — to fit
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — an amount
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. degree — temperature

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