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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. court — of a king
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — wild animals
  9. dip — to sink
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. game — a match
  13. field — farmland
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. court — of law
  18. wound — an injury
  19. court — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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