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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: bowl · safe · club · court · field · ruler · degree · cell

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — for sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. degree — an amount
  8. club — for golf
  9. court — of a king
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. court — of law
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — for sport
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cell — a phone
  23. club — a group
  24. cell — in biology

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