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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · mark · race · lean · degree · rest · field · spell

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mark — a grade
  4. lean — to bend
  5. field — farmland
  6. game — a match
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. spell — magic
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. race — a contest
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. field — a subject
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spell — letters
  22. game — wild animals
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — for sport

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