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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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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: mark · rest · suit · field · key · degree · bowl · clip

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — farmland
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. suit — to fit
  7. mark — a trace
  8. field — for sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. key — for a lock
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. suit — clothes
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rest — what's left
  18. key — in music
  19. suit — in cards
  20. clip — to cut
  21. key — the most important part
  22. field — a subject
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. clip — a video

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