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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 120 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — an amount
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. staff — employees
  6. stock — goods
  7. staff — a stick
  8. charge — electricity
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. field — for sport
  14. charge — in control
  15. game — wild animals
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — farmland
  18. game — a match
  19. staff — employees
  20. charge — a price
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitcher — a jug

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