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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 116 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. field — farmland
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bat — the animal
  8. board — a committee
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. pass — a permit
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. board — to get on
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. field — for sport
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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