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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: chair · scale · track · jam · degree · fall · field · chest

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. field — a subject
  3. chest — a box
  4. degree — from a university
  5. scale — size or range
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. chair — a leader
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — in music
  13. field — farmland
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. degree — an amount
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — a song

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