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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 120 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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. field — for sport
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. land — to come down
  6. vault — a safe
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — temperature
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. saw — the tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — a phone
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — a subject
  23. land — a country
  24. cell — in biology

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