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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — a country
  9. field — for sport
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spell — magic
  12. pit — in a race
  13. ground — a position
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. spell — letters
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — a subject
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. ground — the earth
  24. degree — from a university

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