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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. branch — a division
  3. court — of law
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rule — a law
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spell — magic
  10. degree — an amount
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — from a university
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. court — for sport
  21. press — to push
  22. rule — government
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. field — for 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