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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. last — finally
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — final
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cap — a lid
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lean — thin
  16. last — to go on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — to bend
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cap — of ice
  24. field — a subject

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