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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wax — to grow
  7. land — ground
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. land — to come down
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bass — low music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. face — to confront
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. land — a country

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