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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. net — for catching
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. fine — high quality
  9. face — to point toward
  10. field — a subject
  11. face — to confront
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — temperature
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. field — farmland
  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