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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — a country
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — a subject
  8. charge — in control
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. degree — from a university
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — electricity
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. land — to come down
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. cell — in biology
  21. land — ground
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — for sport

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