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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. field — farmland
  5. chest — a box
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — from a university
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — for sport
  12. mate — to breed
  13. field — a subject
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. ball — a dance
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. sharp — clever
  22. ball — a great time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rush — hurry

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