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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. track — a path
  4. ball — a great time
  5. court — for sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. field — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. season — in sport
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. field — farmland
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. track — a song

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