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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. field — a subject
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. degree — an amount
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bulb — for light
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — of a king
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bulb — for light
  19. drill — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — a division
  22. track — to keep track
  23. field — for sport
  24. court — 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