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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · kick · field · ground · press · march

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. march — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. press — newspapers
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. march — the month
  17. press — to push
  18. kick — in football

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