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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. rock — a stone
  4. fine — all right
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — to come down
  7. fine — high quality
  8. rash — a series
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. land — a country
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. rock — music
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. land — ground
  17. deal — to handle
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — farmland
  20. court — of law
  21. field — a subject
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. court — for sport

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