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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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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. field — a subject
  3. mark — a grade
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rush — hurry
  7. mark — a trace
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. chair — a leader
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. field — farmland
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. field — for sport

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