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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. board — to get on
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. chip — to eat
  6. tear — from crying
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tear — to rip
  10. degree — an amount
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chip — for betting
  14. row — a line
  15. field — for sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. degree — from a university
  20. swing — music
  21. board — a committee
  22. tear — from crying
  23. swing — in golf
  24. lash — to lash out

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