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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. field — farmland
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pop — soda
  9. field — a subject
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mug — a cup
  12. row — a line
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — an amount
  17. perch — the fish
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. track — a path
  21. mug — to rob
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. row — to paddle
  24. perch — for a bird

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