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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. press — newspapers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — of ice
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. branch — a division
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — for sport
  12. press — to push
  13. degree — from a university
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — a box
  16. press — a publisher
  17. game — a match
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cap — a hat
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cap — a lid
  22. field — a subject
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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