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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. net — after costs
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mate — to breed
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mate — a partner
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fine — all right
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — an amount
  11. field — for sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mate — a friend
  19. net — in sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fine — high quality
  24. degree — temperature

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