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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — to crush
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — temperature
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. hand — in cards
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. rash — a series
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. craft — boats
  23. hand — help
  24. field — farmland

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