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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 120 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: shower · vault · field · bass · pop · degree · rule · bark

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bark — to shout
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pop — music
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rule — government
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rule — a law
  14. shower — rain
  15. bass — the fish
  16. degree — temperature
  17. field — a subject
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. field — farmland
  24. bass — low music

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