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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. degree — temperature
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. season — in sport
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — from a university
  14. court — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. court — of a king
  17. rule — government
  18. season — of the year
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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