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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. drill — army training
  6. field — for sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — a subject
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. degree — temperature
  19. branch — a division
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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