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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — farmland
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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