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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. court — for sport
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. court — of law
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pop — music
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. pop — soda
  18. face — to confront
  19. court — of a king
  20. dip — to sink
  21. face — to point toward
  22. field — for sport
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cell — in biology

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