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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. board — to get on
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. craft — boats
  9. board — a committee
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. craft — a skill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wake — a trail
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. degree — from a university
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — a subject
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. craft — a handicraft

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