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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. key — in music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. degree — from a university
  7. key — for a lock
  8. rest — a break
  9. kid — child
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — shares
  17. field — farmland
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — goods
  22. key — the most important part
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. degree — temperature

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