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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — farmland
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. rash — a series
  9. fine — all right
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. hand — help
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. field — a subject
  24. mate — a partner

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