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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: fan · chair · field · pass · land · rush · date · degree

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. degree — temperature
  4. land — a country
  5. field — for sport
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. land — ground
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — a subject
  13. pass — a permit
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. field — farmland
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — to come down
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. chair — a leader
  21. date — the fruit
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. date — on the calendar

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