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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. court — of a king
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. field — a subject
  8. court — for sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — for sport
  11. chip — for betting
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — of law
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. capital — a city
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. band — a music group
  24. capital — money

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