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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: rock · degree · fine · sharp · snap · kid · field · ground

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — temperature
  3. kid — child
  4. field — a subject
  5. sharp — clever
  6. snap — to click
  7. rock — music
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. ground — a position
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fine — all right
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. degree — an amount
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rock — a stone
  18. field — for sport
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fine — high quality

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