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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. ground — the earth
  6. row — to paddle
  7. degree — an amount
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cue — a hint
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — a position
  15. pit — in a race
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pit — a hole
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. field — for sport

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