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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 116 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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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: field · rest · bass · chip · degree · bear · pass · kid

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. field — farmland
  11. pass — a permit
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rest — a break
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. kid — child
  18. bear — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chip — to eat

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