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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. track — a song
  3. bark — to shout
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. degree — from a university
  6. field — farmland
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. track — a path
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. track — to keep track
  11. field — for sport
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. field — a subject
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. vault — a safe
  20. degree — an amount
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — temperature

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