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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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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: stick · staff · race · wave · field · degree · pass · face

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — an amount
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. race — humankind
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — farmland
  10. staff — a stick
  11. face — to point toward
  12. degree — temperature
  13. field — for sport
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — from a university
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pass — to succeed

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