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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 124 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. current — of water
  4. ground — crushed
  5. plane — a tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. mark — a grade
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. court — for sport
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — for dancing
  13. current — happening now
  14. court — of a king
  15. field — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — a subject
  18. club — for golf
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. court — of law
  21. current — electric
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — a group

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