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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. field — a subject
  3. court — of law
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. court — of a king
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stand — to bear
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lie — to recline
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pit — a hole
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. field — farmland
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pit — in a race
  23. field — for sport
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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