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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. club — for dancing
  3. last — final
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. court — of law
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. field — farmland
  9. club — for golf
  10. last — finally
  11. court — for sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — of a king
  16. field — a subject
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. scale — in music
  23. field — for sport
  24. club — a group

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