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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. court — of a king
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. net — after costs
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — to rip
  14. net — for catching
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — in sport
  18. court — for sport
  19. mark — a grade
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — 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