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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — an amount
  4. net — in sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. degree — from a university
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. row — to paddle
  11. degree — temperature
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. vault — a safe
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. row — a line
  24. fan — a supporter

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