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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 · wound · fine · deal · field · degree · snap · march

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fine — all right
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. march — the month
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. field — a subject
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. field — farmland
  17. march — music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fine — high quality
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. degree — from a university

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