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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. board — to get on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. field — farmland
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chair — a leader
  14. board — a committee
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mark — a grade
  17. degree — from a university
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. band — a ring

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