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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cap — a hat
  10. snap — to click
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cap — a lid
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — farmland
  17. degree — an amount
  18. field — for sport
  19. game — a match
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — of ice
  22. swing — music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. swing — to play on

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