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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fine — all right
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — part of the head
  18. field — for sport
  19. fine — high quality
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bark — to shout
  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