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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 116 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: drill · pit · degree · wind · leaves · bear · hand · field

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. field — farmland
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — army training
  7. degree — from a university
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. hand — help
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — temperature
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. drill — the tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. bear — the animal

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