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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. squash — the sport
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. row — a line
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. object — to protest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. object — a thing
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cap — a lid
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — to paddle
  17. charge — a price
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. charge — in control
  23. object — an aim
  24. charge — electricity

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