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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. degree — from a university
  4. drill — the tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. field — for sport
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. fine — all right
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pitch — completely

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