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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rule — a law
  4. court — of law
  5. field — for sport
  6. cell — a phone
  7. court — of a king
  8. root — the cause
  9. field — farmland
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. swing — music
  13. kick — in football
  14. rule — government
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — for sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cell — in biology
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. root — of a word
  24. hide — to keep secret

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