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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 · foot · field · pop · track · chair · ruler · degree

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. degree — an amount
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. field — farmland
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. track — a song
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — to keep track
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pop — soda
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. pop — music
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. chair — a leader
  20. field — for sport
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. degree — temperature
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pop — to visit

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