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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: wind · object · stock · branch · trunk · vault · kid · degree

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. vault — a safe
  4. branch — a division
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stock — shares
  8. degree — an amount
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. object — a thing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. wind — moving air
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stock — goods
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. object — an aim
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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