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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. field — for sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — completely
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. row — a line
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. root — of a plant
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. row — to paddle
  21. field — farmland
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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