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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a trace
  4. court — of law
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mark — a grade
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stem — to come from
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. field — a subject
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pit — a hole
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — for sport
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. court — for sport
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. field — farmland
  24. pit — in a race

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