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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — a subject
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. field — for sport
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. row — a line
  14. pit — a hole
  15. row — to paddle
  16. foot — a measure
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lean — thin
  19. field — farmland
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. degree — temperature
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. foot — the bottom

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