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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spell — magic
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spell — letters
  6. rash — a series
  7. degree — an amount
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — temperature
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bank — of a river
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — a subject
  17. bank — for money
  18. spell — a short time
  19. craft — boats
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bank — for money
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. nail — on a finger

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