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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. suit — in cards
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. court — of law
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bound — obliged
  9. suit — to fit
  10. degree — from a university
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. current — of water
  13. bound — certain
  14. current — happening now
  15. field — farmland
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. court — of a king
  18. bound — tied together
  19. suit — clothes
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. current — electric
  23. court — for sport
  24. degree — temperature

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