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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. degree — temperature
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — an amount
  5. field — for sport
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. degree — from a university
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. bank — of a river
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. scale — size or range
  17. field — a subject
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. last — final
  24. drill — a practice

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