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

Word bank: field · kid · stock · track · temple · pit · degree · rest

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. track — to keep track
  3. field — a subject
  4. rest — a break
  5. stock — goods
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rest — what's left
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. kid — child
  12. field — for sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — to tease
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pit — in a race
  17. rest — what's left
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pit — a hole
  20. track — a song
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stock — shares
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. track — a path

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