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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rush — hurry
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — farmland
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. field — for sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. degree — temperature
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. shower — rain
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. shower — to wash
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pitch — completely

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