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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. land — ground
  4. field — farmland
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. degree — an amount
  7. last — finally
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. last — final
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. last — to go on
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. land — a country
  21. field — a subject
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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