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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — a subject
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. court — for sport
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. court — of a king
  21. pit — a hole
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cell — in biology
  24. court — of law

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