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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — for sport
  3. key — in music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. key — the most important part
  10. stock — shares
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. field — a subject
  14. roll — a cake
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — farmland
  17. roll — a list
  18. field — for sport
  19. kick — in football
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stock — goods

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