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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 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. land — a country
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. field — a subject
  9. scale — in music
  10. land — to come down
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. snap — to click
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — ground
  24. scale — size or range

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