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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mate — a friend
  7. field — for sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. drill — army training
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. field — a subject
  13. plane — a tool
  14. field — farmland
  15. drill — the tool
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. can — a tin
  19. degree — an amount
  20. can — a tin
  21. chair — a leader
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. drill — a practice

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