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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. field — for sport
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lie — to recline
  12. content — the amount
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. content — happy
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spell — magic
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — videos and posts
  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