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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 120 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. foot — a measure
  5. prune — to trim
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. spring — of water
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — farmland
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. field — for sport
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spring — the season
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rule — government
  24. sharp — with an edge

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