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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. game — a match
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bore — to drill
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. degree — from a university
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — of water
  11. bore — to tire
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. field — farmland
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — a subject
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. spring — the season
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. game — wild animals
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. field — for sport
  24. hide — to keep secret

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