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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kick — in football
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rule — government
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cue — for pool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. rule — a law
  16. drill — army training
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. drill — the tool
  20. plane — a tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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