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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. field — a subject
  4. saw — the tool
  5. charge — in control
  6. degree — from a university
  7. field — farmland
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. degree — an amount
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stand — to bear
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. charge — electricity
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. charge — a price
  24. straw — dry grass

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