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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cue — a signal
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. degree — an amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. cue — for pool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cue — a hint
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. press — to push
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cold — not warm

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