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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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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. staff — employees
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitch — completely
  12. field — for sport
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. degree — from a university
  16. staff — employees
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. field — farmland
  22. bank — of a river
  23. staff — a stick
  24. pitch — a sports field

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