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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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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: rush · pit · degree · ground · fork · row · cell · vault

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. vault — a safe
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. row — a line
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cell — in biology
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. ground — a position
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cell — a phone
  17. degree — from a university
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pit — a hole
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. ground — the earth

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