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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — from a university
  3. saw — the tool
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. degree — an amount
  6. field — a subject
  7. saw — the tool
  8. last — to go on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. last — final
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — finally
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. field — farmland
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. field — for sport
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. pit — a hole

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