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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. current — of water
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — temperature
  7. current — happening now
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. court — of law
  12. field — a subject
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rash — hasty
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. field — farmland
  21. pass — a permit
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rash — a series
  24. current — electric

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