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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: field · pitch · nail · capital · lean · rash · roll · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitch — completely
  4. degree — from a university
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. degree — an amount
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. capital — money
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. lean — thin
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. capital — a city
  14. lean — to bend
  15. field — a subject
  16. roll — a cake
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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