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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — farmland
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — in a road
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fork — to eat with

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