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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: degree · hand · staff · leaves · game · field · mug · mark

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — from a university
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. degree — temperature
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mug — a cup
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. field — farmland
  17. staff — employees
  18. mug — to rob
  19. field — a subject
  20. mark — a trace
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mug — a face
  23. staff — a stick
  24. degree — an amount

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