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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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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: rock · ground · degree · fine · file · bay · field · fall

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — all right
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — a position
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. field — for sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fall — the season
  16. file — a line of people
  17. field — a subject
  18. rock — music
  19. file — a document
  20. fine — high quality
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. ground — crushed

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