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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — the sport
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — for sport
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — temperature
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. field — farmland
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pass — a permit
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. degree — an amount
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bat — for baseball

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