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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: pitch · mark · degree · fine · date · bulb · temple · field

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fine — high quality
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fine — all right
  20. pitch — completely
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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