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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — a subject
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. field — farmland
  16. court — of law
  17. toast — bread
  18. court — of a king
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — the tool
  24. racket — a loud noise

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