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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — for sport
  4. file — a document
  5. fine — all right
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. fine — high quality
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. present — the time now
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. field — farmland
  17. hand — help
  18. file — a tool
  19. court — of law
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. file — a line of people
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. present — there

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