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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — an amount
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. court — for sport
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — for sport
  12. craft — boats
  13. saw — the tool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. degree — from a university
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. court — of a king
  19. band — a ring
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. court — of law
  23. field — farmland
  24. coach — a trainer

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