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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: deal · bat · cabinet · file · charge · degree · court · field

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — farmland
  7. file — a line of people
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — in control
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. court — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. court — of a king
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — the animal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. court — of law
  24. charge — electricity

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