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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: cap · degree · wound · march · content · vault · wax · stem

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. content — the amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — happy
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. degree — from a university
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. vault — a safe

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