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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mate — to breed
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mark — a trace
  5. field — a subject
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. charge — electricity
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. charge — a price
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mate — a friend
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — of your body

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