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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. club — for golf
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — a coil
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. spring — of water
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. field — for sport
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bat — the animal
  18. club — a group
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for dancing
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — to hit hard

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