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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 124 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. field — a subject
  3. fine — high quality
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spring — the season
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bass — low music
  17. field — farmland
  18. fine — all right
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. spring — of water
  23. degree — from a university
  24. field — for sport

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