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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. field — for sport
  3. pit — a hole
  4. field — a subject
  5. degree — an amount
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. degree — temperature
  17. field — farmland
  18. cold — an illness

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