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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: bound · degree · stick · stock · spring · bear · kid · vault

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. spring — of water
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spring — the season
  7. vault — a safe
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bound — certain
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bear — the animal
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. spring — a coil
  20. degree — an amount
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bound — obliged
  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