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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. court — for sport
  3. pit — a hole
  4. last — final
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pit — in a race
  7. last — to go on
  8. suit — clothes
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — the animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. staff — employees
  15. suit — in cards
  16. staff — employees
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. suit — to fit
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. staff — a stick
  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