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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. court — of law
  3. field — a subject
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. sharp — clever
  6. charge — a price
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — from a university
  15. charge — electricity
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. prune — to trim
  20. court — of a king
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. field — farmland
  24. charge — in control

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