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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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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: lie · field · chair · ruler · snap · ground · degree · hand

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chair — a leader
  10. lie — to recline
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hand — help
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — for sport
  16. ground — the earth
  17. field — farmland
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. snap — to click
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. ground — a position

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