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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. file — a line of people
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bound — tied together
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. file — a tool
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — for sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. craft — a skill
  16. field — a subject
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bound — certain
  19. wind — moving air
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — obliged
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. craft — boats
  24. wind — moving air

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