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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — an amount
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. field — for sport
  8. bore — to drill
  9. track — a song
  10. kick — in football
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pit — in a race
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pit — a hole
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. track — a path
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hand — help

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