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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. rash — a series
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bank — for money
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — an amount
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. field — a subject
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. bank — of a river
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bank — for money
  17. game — a match
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. toast — bread
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. degree — temperature
  24. game — a kind of play

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