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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — temperature
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. degree — an amount
  7. land — a country
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. field — for sport
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — certain
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bound — obliged
  18. field — a subject
  19. sharp — clever
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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