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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. present — the time now
  6. row — a line
  7. degree — temperature
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. present — there
  11. field — a subject
  12. cap — of ice
  13. present — a gift
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. branch — a division
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pit — a hole
  24. row — to paddle

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