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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. field — for sport
  3. plane — a tool
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a lid
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ground — a position
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — a subject
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. ground — crushed

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