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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — temperature
  14. dip — to sink
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. drill — army training
  18. pop — soda
  19. key — for a lock
  20. court — of a king
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. degree — an amount
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pop — music

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