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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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. current — electric
  3. degree — an amount
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — a subject
  12. current — happening now
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. current — of water
  17. swing — in golf
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. capital — money
  22. mark — a trace
  23. capital — a city
  24. mark — a grade

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