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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. face — to confront
  10. date — the fruit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — in a road
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. band — a music group
  22. court — for sport
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. court — of law

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