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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. field — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — a subject
  14. root — the cause
  15. pound — a weight
  16. craft — boats
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. court — of law
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of a king

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