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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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Word bank
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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 · stock · board · game · bass · field · degree · swing

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — for sport
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. field — a subject
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — a match
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. stock — shares
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. board — to get on
  17. game — wild animals
  18. board — a committee
  19. swing — in golf
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — farmland
  22. stock — goods
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — a safe

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