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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. roll — a cake
  6. field — for sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stand — to bear
  9. degree — temperature
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. key — for a lock
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. roll — a list
  15. field — farmland
  16. key — the most important part
  17. file — a line of people
  18. degree — from a university
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. file — a document
  22. key — in music
  23. shower — rain
  24. stand — on your feet

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