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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. degree — temperature
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. mate — to breed
  5. field — farmland
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — an amount
  8. can — a tin
  9. roll — a list
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to bend
  13. kid — child
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — a partner
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. lean — thin
  18. roll — a cake
  19. can — to be able to
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — for sport
  24. can — a tin

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