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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — a safe
  8. snap — to click
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. field — for sport
  11. stand — to bear
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. plane — a tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. field — farmland
  21. degree — from a university
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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