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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — for sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. court — of law
  10. board — a committee
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. present — there
  14. field — farmland
  15. shower — rain
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. stock — shares
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. stock — goods
  24. board — to get on

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