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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. key — the most important part
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. field — farmland
  8. rest — a break
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — for sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rest — what's left
  17. key — for a lock
  18. staff — employees
  19. key — in music
  20. court — of law
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of a king
  24. dip — to sink

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