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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. degree — an amount
  3. band — a ring
  4. season — of the year
  5. field — for sport
  6. plane — a tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. season — in sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — a subject
  12. foot — a measure
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. staff — a stick
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a leader
  19. degree — temperature
  20. staff — employees
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. band — a rubber band

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