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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · coach · cold · cue · fan · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cold — an illness
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cue — a signal
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. degree — temperature
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — an amount
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cue — a hint

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