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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fork — in a road
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. court — of a king
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. court — of law
  12. degree — temperature
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. degree — from a university
  15. season — of the year
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. season — in sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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