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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — an amount
  9. field — farmland
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. field — for sport
  24. pass — a permit

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