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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: lie · chest · stem · degree · drill · stock · pound · vault

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. degree — temperature
  4. vault — a safe
  5. drill — army training
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chest — a box
  8. stock — goods
  9. lie — to recline
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stock — shares
  22. pound — a weight
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — to hit hard

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