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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 120 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: field · degree · racket · court · sharp · kid · stick · vault

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. degree — temperature
  3. kid — child
  4. field — farmland
  5. court — of law
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — from a university
  10. sharp — clever
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kid — to tease
  15. field — a subject
  16. court — of a king
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. court — for sport
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. field — for sport
  21. vault — a safe
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. sharp — with an edge

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