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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: coach · court · drill · pound · nail · deal · degree · field

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. drill — a practice
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. deal — to handle
  8. degree — temperature
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. drill — army training
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. court — of law

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