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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. field — farmland
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — a subject
  6. cue — for pool
  7. club — for dancing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — for golf
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. field — for sport
  12. scale — in music
  13. court — for sport
  14. club — a group
  15. shower — to wash
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cue — a hint
  21. shower — rain
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cue — a signal
  24. court — of law

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