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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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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: stick · vault · bat · net · perch · field · degree · mine

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. degree — an amount
  9. field — for sport
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — from a university
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. perch — the fish
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. degree — temperature
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. field — farmland

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