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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. degree — temperature
  4. craft — boats
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pop — to visit
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — farmland
  11. face — to confront
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pop — soda
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. face — part of the head
  18. degree — from a university
  19. face — to point toward
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pop — music

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