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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. field — a subject
  3. court — of a king
  4. field — farmland
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. court — of law
  7. stand — to bear
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. craft — boats
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. field — for sport
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. craft — a skill
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. court — for sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. key — in music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kick — in football
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. key — the most important part

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