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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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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: bat · fan · saw · game · field · degree · safe · drill

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — wild animals
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — an amount
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. drill — a practice
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. field — a subject
  19. drill — army training
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. game — a match
  23. drill — the tool
  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