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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fine — high quality
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. field — farmland
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. field — for sport
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. fine — all right
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. degree — an amount
  20. last — finally
  21. degree — temperature
  22. dip — to sink
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fine — a penalty

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