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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wind — moving air
  6. court — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. key — in music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. key — the most important part
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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