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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.

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: field · pitcher · racket · pop · fan · march · mate · degree

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mate — a friend
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pop — soda
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. pop — to visit
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — for sport
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. march — music
  19. pop — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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