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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: wind · object · degree · kid · field · arm · mark · spell

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mark — a grade
  6. object — a thing
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. field — farmland
  11. object — to protest
  12. kid — to tease
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spell — a short time
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. field — a subject
  18. kid — child
  19. mark — a trace
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — an aim
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. spell — letters

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