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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 124 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bass — the fish
  8. degree — from a university
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bass — low music
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. degree — temperature
  19. field — for sport
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rule — government

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