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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 116 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: court · vault · degree · field · bear · leaves · pitcher · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. vault — a safe
  3. field — a subject
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — an amount
  12. court — for sport
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of a king

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