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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cold — not warm
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. object — a thing
  10. prune — to trim
  11. object — to protest
  12. bank — of a river
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. field — a subject
  15. object — an aim
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. degree — an amount
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bank — for money
  22. field — farmland
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bat — the animal

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