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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. land — ground
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spell — magic
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — farmland
  16. spell — letters
  17. land — a country
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — to come down
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. net — after costs
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — in sport

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