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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bear — the animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. key — in music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — for sport
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. foot — a measure
  18. key — for a lock
  19. field — farmland
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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