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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. rest — what's left
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. hand — help
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. toast — bread
  13. field — for sport
  14. rest — a break
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — of law
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. hand — in cards
  20. band — a music group
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. band — a ring
  23. squash — the sport
  24. rest — what's left

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