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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: kick · wave · degree · mark · field · date · land · bulb

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. field — a subject
  7. date — the fruit
  8. mark — a trace
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. land — a country
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — farmland
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. land — to come down
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — for sport
  23. mark — a grade
  24. kick — in football

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