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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. present — there
  3. degree — temperature
  4. craft — a skill
  5. file — a tool
  6. ground — a position
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. present — a gift
  10. craft — boats
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — the time now
  13. hand — help
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. degree — from a university
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pit — in a race
  21. file — a document
  22. field — a subject
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — farmland

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