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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — all right
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — for sport
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. court — of law
  10. bass — low music
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. court — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — in cards
  24. temple — side of the head

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