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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wake — a trail
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fork — in a road
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. degree — an amount
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. degree — from a university

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