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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. deal — to handle
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — from a university
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bound — obliged
  9. degree — an amount
  10. court — of law
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — farmland
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. bound — certain
  16. field — a subject
  17. spell — letters
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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