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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. field — for sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. file — a line of people
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. file — a document
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. field — farmland
  22. file — a tool
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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