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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. drill — army training
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pit — in a race
  5. field — for sport
  6. pit — a hole
  7. degree — an amount
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. field — a subject
  12. rest — a break
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. field — farmland
  24. hide — to keep secret

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