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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — a match
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. degree — from a university
  7. field — farmland
  8. cue — a signal
  9. game — wild animals
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. field — for sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bore — to drill
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cue — for pool
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — a subject
  20. saw — the tool
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cue — a hint

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