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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rash — hasty
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — of law
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. content — happy
  9. season — in sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pit — a hole
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. field — farmland
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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