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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 116 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. race — humankind
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. race — the arms race
  13. kick — in football
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. current — of water
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. degree — an amount
  20. field — a subject
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. race — a contest
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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