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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · degree · face · net · vault · ground · prune · bowl

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. net — after costs
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — an amount
  8. prune — to trim
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. vault — a safe
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. face — to confront
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. ground — the earth
  16. net — for catching
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. degree — from a university
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ground — a position
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. face — part of the head
  24. patient — a sick person

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