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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — ground
  4. field — farmland
  5. craft — boats
  6. kick — in football
  7. land — a country
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. object — to protest
  12. craft — a skill
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — for sport
  15. pass — a permit
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. land — to come down
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — an aim
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. field — a subject

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