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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — an amount
  3. clip — to cut
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. field — for sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — from a university
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. root — of a word
  15. net — after costs
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. root — of a plant
  18. net — in sport
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. clip — for paper
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. root — the cause
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. mouse — the animal

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