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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. roll — a list
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pound — a weight
  10. degree — an amount
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. field — a subject
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — a box
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. saw — the tool
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pit — in a race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. field — for sport

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