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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 120 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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. track — a path
  3. field — for sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. field — a subject
  6. track — to keep track
  7. capital — a city
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rest — a break
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bear — the animal
  17. field — farmland
  18. mug — a cup
  19. track — a song
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bear — the animal

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