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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 · field · game · bowl · wake · root · jam · degree

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. root — of a word
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. game — a match
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. root — the cause
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. field — farmland
  15. root — of a plant
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — wild animals
  21. degree — an amount
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. field — a subject

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