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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. pound — a weight
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. roll — a list
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — a container
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. degree — an amount
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pitch — completely
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. vault — a safe
  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