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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.

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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: degree · board · chest · mug · deal · bay · swing · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. mug — to rob
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. chest — a box
  9. degree — from a university
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — to handle
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mug — a face
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. swing — music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mug — a cup
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — to get on
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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