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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. field — a subject
  4. date — the fruit
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — for sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a line
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. court — of a king
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rush — hurry
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. court — for sport
  24. jam — in traffic

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