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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · march · saw · court · charge · spell · shower · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. charge — electricity
  4. degree — from a university
  5. saw — the tool
  6. march — music
  7. shower — rain
  8. charge — in control
  9. degree — an amount
  10. court — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — temperature
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. charge — a price
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. field — farmland

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