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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 116 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: kid · rash · wound · stock · degree · vault · last · tear

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stock — goods
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — final
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — child
  11. last — finally
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. vault — a safe
  20. last — to go on
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — to tease

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