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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. sharp — clever
  7. field — for sport
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. staff — a stick
  10. court — of a king
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. court — for sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — of water
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — a coil
  19. court — of law
  20. staff — employees
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spring — the season
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. sharp — exactly

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