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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. tube — a container
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chip — for betting
  8. degree — from a university
  9. net — in sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tube — the underground
  12. ground — crushed
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. field — a subject
  15. net — after costs
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ground — a position
  18. mate — a partner
  19. chip — to eat
  20. degree — temperature
  21. net — for catching
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mate — a friend

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