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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rash — a series
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stand — to bear
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bound — certain
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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