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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. hand — help
  4. scale — size or range
  5. hand — in cards
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — a friend
  8. court — for sport
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. court — of law
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. field — for sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. field — a subject
  18. court — of a king
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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