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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chair — a leader
  5. net — for catching
  6. file — a line of people
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. ball — a dance
  11. degree — an amount
  12. net — after costs
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. file — a document
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rash — hasty
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — farmland
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rash — a series
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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