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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. field — for sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. field — a subject
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. track — a song
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. degree — from a university
  20. snap — to click
  21. field — farmland
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. ruler — a monarch

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