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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: degree · field · date · face · swing · branch · net · lash

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — for sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. swing — in golf
  7. degree — from a university
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. swing — to play on
  10. net — in sport
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. field — farmland
  18. degree — an amount
  19. net — after costs
  20. field — a subject
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. face — to confront
  23. date — the fruit
  24. face — part of the head

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