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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mine — for digging
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. perch — the fish
  15. degree — an amount
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. pass — a permit
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — temperature
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. field — a subject
  24. ruler — for measuring

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