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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. prune — to trim
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. drill — army training
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. drill — the tool
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. field — for sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. drill — a practice
  24. vault — a safe

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