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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — clever
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tube — a container
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fork — in a road
  17. field — a subject
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tube — the underground
  20. field — for sport
  21. stand — to bear
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — farmland
  24. tube — in a tire

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