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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — an amount
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. field — for sport
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rule — government
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — a subject
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — farmland
  24. straw — a straw man

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