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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. swing — music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mate — a partner
  7. court — of law
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — in golf
  10. mate — to breed
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — in sport
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mate — a friend
  18. capital — money
  19. season — of the year
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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