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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. current — electric
  3. march — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — farmland
  8. current — happening now
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. court — for sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — for sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. content — the amount
  22. court — of a king
  23. current — of water
  24. content — happy

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