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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 124 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — for sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chip — to eat
  9. field — farmland
  10. chip — for betting
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — in a road
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — a subject
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — a garden tool

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