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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. vault — a safe
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fork — in a road
  9. field — for sport
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. field — farmland
  15. bear — the animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bear — to put up with

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