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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — a line
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. can — a tin
  6. court — of law
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. race — humankind
  11. can — a tin
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. court — of a king
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. row — to paddle
  19. craft — boats
  20. board — a committee
  21. craft — a skill
  22. court — for sport
  23. bat — the animal
  24. can — to be able to

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