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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — a tool
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. degree — temperature
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. field — farmland
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. squash — the vegetable

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