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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. field — a subject
  3. court — of law
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. capital — money
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — for sport
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of a king
  16. mug — a cup
  17. last — finally
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. last — to go on
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — final

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