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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 116 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: leaves · tube · rest · court · bat · current · field · degree

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. field — farmland
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rest — what's left
  5. court — of law
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — for sport
  10. current — of water
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — the animal
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. court — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. current — happening now
  22. court — of a king
  23. tube — the underground
  24. degree — temperature

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