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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: mine · degree · wax · branch · kid · vault · calf · lean

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lean — to bend
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. lean — thin
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mine — for digging
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. branch — a division
  21. degree — temperature
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kid — child

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