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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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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: leaves · degree · field · mouse · capital · cell · ruler · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cell — a phone
  8. court — of law
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. field — a subject
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. field — farmland
  18. capital — a city
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. court — for sport

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