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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. field — a subject
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. capital — money
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. rule — government
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rule — a law
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. capital — a city
  18. season — in sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hand — in cards
  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