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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 · field · key · net · spring · degree · foot · date

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — an amount
  3. net — for catching
  4. staff — employees
  5. foot — a measure
  6. key — in music
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — farmland
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. key — the most important part
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — a subject
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. staff — a stick
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — in sport
  21. date — the fruit
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. spring — a coil
  24. key — for a lock

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