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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · dip · press · game · pit · field · bat · degree

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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 — a subject
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. dip — to sink
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. press — newspapers
  8. pit — a hole
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pit — in a race
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. field — for sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — temperature
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. game — wild animals
  22. field — farmland
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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