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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. field — a subject
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. court — of a king
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. foot — a measure
  10. court — for sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — for sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. last — to go on
  17. field — farmland
  18. last — finally
  19. shower — rain
  20. bank — of a river
  21. court — of law
  22. last — final
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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