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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spring — of water
  3. degree — temperature
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stem — to come from
  7. field — a subject
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fall — the season
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bore — to drill
  17. club — a group
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bass — low music
  24. bore — to tire

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