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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. date — the fruit
  4. staff — employees
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — farmland
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. field — a subject
  11. stand — to bear
  12. ball — a great time
  13. field — for sport
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. ball — a dance
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. staff — a stick
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. current — electric
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. staff — employees

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