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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — from a university
  3. net — for catching
  4. present — there
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. net — in sport
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. present — a gift
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. field — for sport
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — the time now
  18. pit — in a race
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. lean — thin

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