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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. suit — in cards
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. root — the cause
  10. suit — to fit
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. suit — clothes
  15. root — of a word
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — the earth
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. root — of a plant
  21. capital — a city
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mug — to rob

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