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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bass — low music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. field — for sport
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. date — the fruit
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. branch — a division
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bass — the fish
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. branch — of a bank

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