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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. season — of the year
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — a box
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. field — a subject
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fall — the season
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. field — farmland
  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