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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. season — of the year
  3. bass — the fish
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. firm — steady
  6. game — wild animals
  7. field — a subject
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. degree — an amount
  10. game — a match
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pop — soda
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — for sport
  16. bass — low music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. degree — temperature
  19. firm — decided
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pop — music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pop — to visit
  24. field — farmland

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