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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rock — music
  14. court — of law
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spring — the season
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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