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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. board — a committee
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. field — farmland
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. board — to get on
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. field — a subject

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