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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: staff · foot · degree · swing · field · trunk · mark · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. foot — a measure
  3. swing — in golf
  4. field — a subject
  5. row — to paddle
  6. swing — to play on
  7. row — a line
  8. field — for sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. staff — employees
  11. field — farmland
  12. staff — a stick
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. degree — an amount
  15. staff — employees
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — a trace
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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