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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a great time
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. field — farmland
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a dance

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