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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spring — the season
  3. last — finally
  4. court — of a king
  5. pass — a permit
  6. court — of law
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. spell — a short time
  9. field — a subject
  10. last — final
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spell — magic
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. spring — a coil
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. spell — letters
  21. last — to go on
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. field — farmland

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