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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — for sport
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. craft — a skill
  9. field — farmland
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. wound — an injury
  13. charge — electricity
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — an injury
  17. craft — boats
  18. degree — temperature
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. snap — to click
  23. field — a subject
  24. craft — a handicraft

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