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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a line of people
  3. degree — from a university
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. craft — boats
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. field — a subject
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. field — farmland
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. craft — a skill
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — an amount
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — a measure
  22. file — a tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chair — a leader

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