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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. foot — a measure
  6. court — of a king
  7. club — for golf
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. court — for sport
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fork — a garden tool

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