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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. swing — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mark — a grade
  10. field — farmland
  11. swing — in golf
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. field — for sport
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. swing — to play on
  17. plane — a tool
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. scale — in music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wound — an injury

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