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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. pop — music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. degree — from a university
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rash — hasty
  10. vault — a safe
  11. pop — soda
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a match
  15. pitch — completely
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. degree — temperature
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rash — a series
  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