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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. rock — a stone
  5. field — for sport
  6. rock — music
  7. object — a thing
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. object — to protest
  12. net — in sport
  13. march — music
  14. object — an aim
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. net — for catching
  19. field — a subject
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. net — after costs
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — farmland

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