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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: net · field · mark · shower · swing · degree · fine · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — for sport
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. shower — to wash
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fine — high quality
  8. degree — from a university
  9. net — in sport
  10. mark — a trace
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hand — help
  13. net — for catching
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — a subject
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. field — farmland
  18. swing — in golf
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hand — in cards
  21. net — after costs
  22. swing — music
  23. fine — all right
  24. shower — rain

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