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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: bay · swing · saw · degree · last · band · date · field

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. last — finally
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. swing — to play on
  12. saw — the tool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. swing — in golf
  15. date — the fruit
  16. swing — music
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. degree — from a university
  20. band — a music group
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. band — a ring
  23. last — final
  24. saw — the tool

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