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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — of a king
  5. march — the month
  6. field — farmland
  7. squash — to crush
  8. race — the arms race
  9. court — of law
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. field — a subject
  12. march — music
  13. stand — to bear
  14. roll — a cake
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. squash — the sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. field — for sport
  20. court — for sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. roll — a list
  24. march — the month

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