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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — from a university
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. degree — an amount
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — farmland
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chair — a leader
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. field — a subject
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — temperature
  21. content — happy
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — for sport
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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