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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — of your body
  3. court — of law
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. court — for sport
  8. craft — a skill
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. field — farmland
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. craft — boats

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