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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. band — a music group
  3. field — farmland
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. field — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. degree — temperature
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. charge — a price
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. charge — electricity
  22. band — a ring
  23. charge — in control
  24. field — a subject

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