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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. club — for golf
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mug — a cup
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. field — for sport
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. staff — a stick
  11. degree — temperature
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mug — a face
  14. field — a subject
  15. saw — the tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. wound — an injury
  18. staff — employees
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for dancing
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. club — a group
  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