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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. field — farmland
  6. stock — shares
  7. present — the time now
  8. degree — from a university
  9. present — there
  10. chest — of your body
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — for sport
  15. land — a country
  16. present — a gift
  17. stock — goods
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — a subject
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — an amount

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