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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. spell — magic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. field — for sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spell — letters
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. degree — temperature
  21. field — a subject
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. nail — on a finger

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