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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pop — soda
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. court — for sport
  11. capital — money
  12. field — farmland
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. field — a subject
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. rush — hurry
  19. court — of law
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pop — to visit
  22. spring — of water
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pop — music

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