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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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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: calf · rock · club · degree · branch · field · march · race

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. club — a group
  4. march — music
  5. club — for golf
  6. degree — from a university
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. race — humankind
  10. degree — an amount
  11. march — the month
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — temperature
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. branch — a division
  19. march — the month
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. club — for dancing
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. field — a subject

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