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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.

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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: field · bat · rest · stand · bore · stock · degree · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. rest — a break
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stock — shares
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bore — to tire
  11. field — for sport
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bore — to drill
  20. stand — to bear
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rest — what's left

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