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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: mark · degree · cabinet · snap · chip · leaves · bowl · field

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chip — to eat
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. snap — to click
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — an amount
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. field — for sport
  12. mark — a trace
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. degree — temperature
  19. field — farmland
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. field — a subject

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