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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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468
Word bank
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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. degree — an amount
  3. field — a subject
  4. club — a group
  5. degree — temperature
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. field — farmland
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. chest — of your body
  12. club — for golf
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chest — a box
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. club — for dancing
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fine — all right
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. field — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. rash — hasty

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