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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. degree — from a university
  5. root — of a word
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. file — a line of people
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. root — of a plant
  11. field — for sport
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. degree — temperature
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — a subject
  19. rock — music
  20. file — a document
  21. field — farmland
  22. root — the cause
  23. rock — a stone
  24. file — a tool

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