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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — a partner
  3. swing — music
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. degree — from a university
  6. field — a subject
  7. roll — a list
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. field — for sport
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mate — to breed
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — farmland
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rest — what's left
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. swing — to play on
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rest — a break

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