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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. row — to paddle
  3. wake — a trail
  4. field — for sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — a subject
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — of water
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fine — high quality
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fine — all right
  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