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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: wave · chest · squash · temple · degree · vault · field · rash

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — an amount
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rash — hasty
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. degree — temperature
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. chest — a box
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. field — for sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rash — a series
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. vault — a safe
  23. field — farmland
  24. squash — to crush

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