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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. degree — from a university
  3. file — a document
  4. field — farmland
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. season — in sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — a group
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — a subject
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bulb — for light
  22. season — of the year
  23. field — for sport
  24. club — for golf

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