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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. land — a country
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bass — low music
  6. staff — employees
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — employees
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ball — a dance
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. ball — a great time
  22. staff — a stick
  23. march — the month
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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