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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · fine · degree · season · charge · row · last · field

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. last — to go on
  3. row — a line
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — high quality
  7. row — to paddle
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. charge — electricity
  10. season — in sport
  11. charge — a price
  12. season — of the year
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. last — finally
  18. charge — in control
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. last — final
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — farmland

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