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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: present · bore · field · bay · mate · degree · mark · file

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bore — to drill
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. field — a subject
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — farmland
  12. degree — an amount
  13. present — a gift
  14. mark — a trace
  15. file — a document
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. field — for sport
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. file — a tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — from a university
  24. present — the time now

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