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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — a subject
  3. board — a committee
  4. track — a song
  5. court — of law
  6. firm — a company
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. firm — decided
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. board — to get on
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. track — to keep track
  14. can — a tin
  15. track — a path
  16. court — of a king
  17. can — to be able to
  18. field — farmland
  19. firm — steady
  20. bat — the animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. board — a flat piece

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