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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: kid · bulb · staff · pitcher · degree · chest · vault · shower

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. degree — from a university
  10. staff — employees
  11. bulb — for light
  12. staff — employees
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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