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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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. charge — in control
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — a group
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. field — farmland
  9. tube — a container
  10. date — the fruit
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. field — a subject
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. staff — employees
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — electricity
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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