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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. court — of a king
  3. deal — to handle
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a song
  8. tube — the underground
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. field — a subject
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — a container
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — to keep track
  19. court — of law
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. track — a path
  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