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

Word bank: board · chair · rest · wake · degree · field · track · cell

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. field — for sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. track — a song
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. degree — an amount
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rest — a break
  17. board — to get on
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chair — a leader

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