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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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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: foot · chair · field · march · bowl · vault · wake · degree

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. vault — a safe
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — music
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. degree — temperature
  13. field — farmland
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — a subject
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. foot — a measure
  19. field — for sport
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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