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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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 — of a king
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pound — a weight
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. season — of the year
  7. field — a subject
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. clip — a video
  10. season — in sport
  11. court — of law
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — for paper
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. court — for sport
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. field — farmland
  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