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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 124 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. last — to go on
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mark — a grade
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pop — soda
  14. last — final
  15. pop — music
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. last — finally
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — farmland
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a dish

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