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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. vault — a safe
  5. charge — electricity
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — from a university
  8. charge — a price
  9. degree — temperature
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. charge — in control
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pop — soda
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pop — music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. field — for sport
  22. swing — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. pop — to visit

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