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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: vault · coach · bat · cue · degree · field · cell · plane

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. plane — a tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cue — for pool
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. cue — a hint
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. vault — a safe
  24. field — farmland

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