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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. field — a subject
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. court — of a king
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. scale — in music
  9. toast — bread
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. court — for sport
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — farmland
  16. sharp — clever
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. field — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bowl — to roll

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