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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mark — a trace
  8. field — farmland
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spring — a coil
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bore — to drill
  13. vault — a safe
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — the season
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spring — of water

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