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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. field — for sport
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. field — a subject
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. staff — employees
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. degree — temperature
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. staff — employees
  22. degree — from a university
  23. band — a music group
  24. jam — in traffic

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