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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. band — a music group
  3. staff — employees
  4. wake — a trail
  5. degree — an amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — from a university
  10. staff — a stick
  11. tear — to rip
  12. staff — employees
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. season — of the year
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — temperature
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — farmland
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. tear — from crying

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