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

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — for sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — for sport
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. court — of a king
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pitcher — a jug

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