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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pop — music
  5. cue — a hint
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — a leader
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pop — to visit
  10. degree — from a university
  11. field — farmland
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cue — a signal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pop — soda
  17. hand — help
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. field — a subject

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