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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 116 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. can — a tin
  3. court — of law
  4. field — a subject
  5. current — happening now
  6. can — to be able to
  7. field — for sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cue — a signal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bore — to drill
  18. can — a tin
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bore — to tire
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. fall — the season
  24. cue — a hint

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