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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 smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. court — of a king
  4. pop — soda
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. root — of a word
  7. pop — to visit
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. pop — music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of law
  16. field — a subject
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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