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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. field — a subject
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rule — a law
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rule — government
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rule — to rule out

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