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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. scale — size or range
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. field — farmland
  7. mine — for digging
  8. court — for sport
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. court — of law
  11. scale — in music
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. field — for sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. court — of a king
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. calf — a young animal

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