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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: fan · content · degree · coach · race · field · tube · net

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — the amount
  3. net — for catching
  4. race — a contest
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. content — happy
  14. tube — the underground
  15. field — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tube — a container
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. degree — an amount
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. field — a subject

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