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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fork — in a road
  4. field — for sport
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. rash — hasty
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — from a university
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. scale — size or range
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. scale — in music
  17. field — farmland
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. stand — to bear
  22. rash — a series
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. leaves — of a tree

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