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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. tube — a container
  3. field — a subject
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — the season
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. board — to get on
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spring — of water
  12. tube — the underground
  13. perch — the fish
  14. board — a committee
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. degree — from a university
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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