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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rest — what's left
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — to confront
  6. last — final
  7. pop — music
  8. last — finally
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — for sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — to go on
  16. pop — soda
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. face — part of the head
  19. chair — a leader
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. degree — temperature

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