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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 124 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. root — of a word
  3. foot — a measure
  4. file — a document
  5. field — for sport
  6. track — a path
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. file — a line of people
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. file — a tool
  13. court — for sport
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — farmland
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. court — of law
  18. rush — hurry
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. kick — in football
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. field — a subject

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