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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 124 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mug — to rob
  6. rule — a law
  7. mug — a face
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. field — a subject
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mug — a cup
  14. sharp — clever
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. degree — temperature
  18. march — the month
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. degree — from a university
  23. shower — rain
  24. coach — a trainer

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