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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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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: chest · degree · field · mate · temple · foot · bank · season

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. chest — a box
  4. foot — a measure
  5. chest — of your body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bank — for money
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mate — to breed
  10. field — a subject
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bank — for money
  13. field — for sport
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bank — of a river
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. season — of the year
  20. field — farmland
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. season — in sport

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