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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mug — a face
  4. field — for sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mug — to rob
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stock — shares
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of a king
  18. mug — a cup
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a document
  21. field — farmland
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. bound — certain

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