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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. court — of a king
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. dip — to sink
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a ring
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. mark — a grade
  15. band — a music group
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bound — tied together
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. field — farmland
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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