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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 120 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bound — tied together
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. field — for sport
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bound — certain
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. court — of a king
  17. field — farmland
  18. court — for sport
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. court — of law
  24. degree — an amount

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