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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. degree — temperature
  3. can — a tin
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. track — a path
  6. can — to be able to
  7. track — a song
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — a subject
  11. can — a tin
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. track — to keep track
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. field — farmland
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. field — for sport
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — child

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