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

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stand — to bear
  5. field — for sport
  6. deal — to handle
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. field — farmland
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. field — a subject
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wound — an injury

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