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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · club · vault · root · field · game · race · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. club — for dancing
  3. root — of a plant
  4. club — for golf
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — a match
  13. club — a group
  14. field — for sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. game — wild animals
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. race — a contest
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. race — humankind
  21. root — the cause
  22. race — the arms race
  23. vault — a safe
  24. band — a ring

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