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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. field — farmland
  4. can — to be able to
  5. court — of law
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chip — to eat
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. can — a tin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chip — for betting
  18. can — a tin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. field — for sport
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. field — a subject
  23. game — wild animals
  24. court — of a king

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