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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: bay · stem · present · squash · bat · vault · chest · degree

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. degree — an amount
  15. squash — the sport
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. squash — to crush
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. present — a gift
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. vault — a safe

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