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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. can — a tin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. field — farmland
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — a break
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. can — to be able to
  14. capital — money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spell — a short time
  20. can — a tin
  21. spell — letters
  22. field — a subject
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — in a road

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