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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bat — the animal
  6. suit — in cards
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. court — for sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. suit — clothes
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. suit — to fit
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. degree — temperature
  21. field — farmland
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. vault — a safe

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