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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mug — a cup
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mug — a face
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. ground — crushed
  15. vault — a safe
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. game — a match
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mug — to rob
  23. ground — a position
  24. prune — to trim

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