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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — farmland
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cell — in biology
  10. suit — clothes
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — finally
  13. degree — from a university
  14. suit — to fit
  15. last — to go on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. snap — to click
  21. last — final
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. field — for sport

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