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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. march — the month
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — for sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. court — of a king
  11. pass — a permit
  12. race — humankind
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. field — for sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. march — music
  17. race — a contest
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — a face
  20. march — the month
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mug — to rob

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