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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. mark — a grade
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mark — a trace
  9. dip — to sink
  10. club — for dancing
  11. degree — from a university
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. field — a subject
  14. lean — thin
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. degree — an amount
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. season — in sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — of the year

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