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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. track — a path
  4. root — of a plant
  5. track — a song
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. field — a subject
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. game — wild animals
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — of a word
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. field — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. root — the cause
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — a match
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — temperature

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