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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wind — moving air
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. field — a subject
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. field — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mark — a trace
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. swing — to play on
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. degree — temperature
  23. field — farmland
  24. swing — music

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