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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.

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: deal · season · spell · lie · bay · field · degree · chair

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — an amount
  4. season — of the year
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — for sport
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spell — a short time
  12. chair — a leader
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. lie — to recline
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spell — letters
  18. deal — to handle
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. season — in sport
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — magic
  24. degree — from a university

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