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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — farmland
  5. bass — low music
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pop — to visit
  9. race — a contest
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. can — a tin
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bass — the fish
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. can — to be able to
  19. race — the arms race
  20. field — a subject
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — humankind
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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