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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. staff — employees
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. degree — temperature
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. staff — employees
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — from a university

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