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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. firm — steady
  3. field — farmland
  4. deal — to handle
  5. field — for sport
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. court — of law
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. court — for sport
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. firm — decided
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. field — a subject
  16. squash — to crush
  17. firm — a company
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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