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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. field — a subject
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mug — a face
  5. fall — the season
  6. chip — to eat
  7. degree — an amount
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mug — to rob
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. mug — a cup
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitch — completely
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chip — for betting
  24. fall — to drop

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