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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
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: degree · tube · patient · fine · foot · fork · field · wound

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. degree — from a university
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — for sport
  15. fine — high quality
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. field — farmland
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fork — in a road

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