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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — to rob
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. degree — an amount
  9. current — happening now
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mug — a face
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — for sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. clip — to cut
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. field — a subject
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — a video

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