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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — farmland
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fine — all right
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. court — for sport
  11. fine — high quality
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. swing — to play on
  19. court — of law
  20. field — a subject
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — from a university
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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