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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · degree · fork · field · fine · hide · present · mouse

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. fine — all right
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. fine — high quality
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — for sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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