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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.

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: pit · degree · march · spell · mouse · field · band · perch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — farmland
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. march — the month
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. march — the month
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — music
  14. pit — in a race
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pit — a hole
  17. perch — the fish
  18. degree — temperature
  19. band — a music group
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spell — magic
  22. band — a ring
  23. spell — letters
  24. perch — for a bird

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