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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: cabinet · mouse · vault · pit · kid · prune · degree · field

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. field — farmland
  5. kid — child
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. prune — the fruit

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