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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — to breed
  9. field — farmland
  10. firm — steady
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. swing — in golf
  14. court — of a king
  15. firm — a company
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. field — for sport
  18. pound — a weight
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — a partner
  21. firm — decided
  22. swing — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pound — for dogs

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