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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fork — in a road
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — of a king
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — magic
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — a line
  18. spell — letters
  19. swing — music
  20. court — for sport
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. season — of the year
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. row — to paddle

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