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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: chair · mark · rush · degree · safe · field · season · bowl

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. field — for sport
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mark — a trace
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. field — a subject
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. season — of the year
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. field — farmland
  22. degree — temperature
  23. season — in sport
  24. bowl — a football final

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