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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: game · field · mine · lash · lie · spell · degree · date

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. spell — letters
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — for sport
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. lie — to recline
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — an amount
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. date — on the calendar

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