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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. track — to keep track
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. can — a tin
  6. track — a song
  7. file — a line of people
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. field — a subject
  10. wind — moving air
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. track — a path
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a document
  19. craft — a skill
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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