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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cell — in biology
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to sink
  6. degree — temperature
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cell — a phone
  18. track — a song
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. track — a path
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. branch — a division
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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