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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: degree · field · kid · temple · court · branch · rule · fork

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. rule — government
  5. kid — to tease
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kid — child
  14. field — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. branch — a division
  24. degree — an amount

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