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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 120 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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. kid — child
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bat — the animal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. craft — a skill
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. court — for sport
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. field — farmland
  15. craft — boats
  16. bore — to drill
  17. field — for sport
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. court — of law
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mark — a grade
  24. court — of a king

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