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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — temperature
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. field — farmland
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. file — a tool
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. field — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a document
  16. march — music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a line of people
  19. land — a country
  20. bulb — for light
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bulb — for light
  23. land — ground
  24. degree — from a university

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