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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: chair · fall · bat · object · degree · field · suit · court

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fall — the season
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. degree — temperature
  9. court — for sport
  10. suit — in cards
  11. object — an aim
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. field — farmland
  15. chair — a leader
  16. object — a thing
  17. degree — an amount
  18. object — to protest
  19. field — a subject
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fall — to drop
  22. suit — clothes
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — the animal

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