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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. mine — for digging
  6. file — a tool
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. file — a document
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — a weight
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stand — to bear
  19. field — a subject
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — a division
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mine — an explosive

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