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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. scale — size or range
  3. drill — army training
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. drill — a practice
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. scale — in music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stand — to bear
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stand — for spectators

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