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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — a country
  3. court — for sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — a trail
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. pit — a hole
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stand — for spectators

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