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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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 — for sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — a group
  5. last — to go on
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. fine — all right
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fine — high quality
  11. last — finally
  12. field — a subject
  13. lean — thin
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. last — final
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. club — for golf
  18. field — farmland
  19. ball — a great time
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — to bend
  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