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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. field — farmland
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. field — for sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — money
  13. degree — an amount
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — a subject
  16. key — the most important part
  17. tear — to rip
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chair — a leader

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