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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bass — the fish
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bound — obliged
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. field — farmland
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bound — certain
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wake — a trail
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mug — a face
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bass — low music
  20. mug — to rob
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. field — a subject
  24. mug — a cup

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