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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rock — a stone
  3. spring — of water
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. court — of law
  9. field — a subject
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. field — farmland
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pound — a weight
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rush — hurry
  16. file — a document
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rock — music
  21. field — for sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. spring — the season
  24. nail — for a hammer

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