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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 120 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: field · saw · fan · kid · foot · degree · tube · land

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. foot — a measure
  5. degree — an amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tube — a container
  14. land — to come down
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. kid — to tease
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. land — a country

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