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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — from a university
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. band — a ring
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. field — for sport
  14. band — a music group
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  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