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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — temperature
  4. foot — a measure
  5. spell — letters
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stock — goods
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. field — for sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stock — shares
  17. stand — to bear
  18. spell — magic
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spell — a short time

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