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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spell — magic
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fine — all right
  6. field — a subject
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. spell — letters
  9. bass — the fish
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. band — a music group
  13. fine — high quality
  14. charge — in control
  15. field — for sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — low music
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. field — farmland
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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