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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: mate · field · bowl · kid · leaves · degree · spell · firm

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. spell — letters
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kid — to tease
  10. firm — a company
  11. field — farmland
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — a subject
  14. firm — decided
  15. mate — a friend
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. mate — to breed
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. kid — child
  23. firm — steady
  24. spell — magic

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