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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. plane — a tool
  7. field — farmland
  8. race — humankind
  9. bound — obliged
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. race — the arms race
  12. field — a subject
  13. staff — a stick
  14. race — a contest
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — for sport
  19. bound — certain
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. plane — in geometry

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