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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. toast — bread
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. court — for sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. scale — in music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. race — the arms race
  17. court — of a king
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. race — humankind
  20. court — of law
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. field — for sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hide — to keep secret

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