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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. field — a subject
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. ball — a dance
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. season — in sport
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. ball — a great time
  19. season — of the year
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pit — in a race

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