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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a music group
  3. degree — from a university
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ball — a dance
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. board — a committee
  14. bat — the animal
  15. board — to get on
  16. band — a ring
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. degree — an amount
  20. present — there
  21. degree — temperature
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

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