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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — the amount
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. object — a thing
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. bound — obliged
  11. field — a subject
  12. season — of the year
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bound — tied together
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bound — certain
  19. mark — a grade
  20. content — happy
  21. object — an aim
  22. field — farmland
  23. object — to protest
  24. court — for sport

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