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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  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 — for sport
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cap — a hat
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. roll — a cake
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bank — for money
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. scale — in music
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. scale — size or range
  15. kick — in football
  16. field — a subject
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cap — a lid
  19. roll — a list
  20. cap — of ice
  21. pound — a weight
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bank — of a river
  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