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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rule — a law
  9. track — a song
  10. hand — in cards
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. track — to keep track
  13. rule — government
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. track — a path
  18. root — of a plant
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. vault — a safe
  23. hand — help
  24. branch — of a bank

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