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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. field — farmland
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stock — goods
  7. degree — temperature
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pound — a weight
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. suit — clothes
  18. perch — the fish
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. stock — shares
  23. wax — to grow
  24. drill — the tool

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