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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — for betting
  3. land — to come down
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — of law
  6. dip — to sink
  7. march — the month
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fine — high quality
  10. court — for sport
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — farmland
  13. wax — to grow
  14. land — ground
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. court — of a king
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. land — a country
  21. chip — to eat
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. fine — all right

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