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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — for sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — the tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — army training
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. degree — an amount
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. field — a subject
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. craft — a skill
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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