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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wave · tube · field · file · racket · court · degree · suit

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. court — for sport
  5. suit — clothes
  6. degree — temperature
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. court — of a king
  17. suit — to fit
  18. file — a tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. suit — in cards
  21. file — a document
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. court — of law
  24. wave — of the sea

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