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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cap — a hat
  5. field — farmland
  6. mate — a friend
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. mate — a partner
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cap — a lid
  16. field — for sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. foot — a measure
  24. field — a subject

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