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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: wake · wound · field · board · coach · bore · rock · degree

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. board — to get on
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — farmland
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bore — to drill
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. degree — an amount
  15. field — for sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rock — music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rock — a stone

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