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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. present — a gift
  6. degree — from a university
  7. present — there
  8. season — in sport
  9. track — a path
  10. field — for sport
  11. net — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. ground — crushed
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — after costs
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. degree — an amount
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. present — the time now
  22. season — of the year
  23. net — for catching
  24. field — a subject

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