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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: file · field · degree · dip · march · chip · wave · bass

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. field — a subject
  5. bass — low music
  6. file — a tool
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. march — the month
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. march — music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. degree — an amount
  14. dip — to sink
  15. field — for sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. bass — the fish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bass — the instrument

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