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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — child
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rest — a break
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chair — a leader
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — farmland
  23. degree — an amount
  24. field — for sport

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