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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. court — for sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — farmland
  6. mug — a face
  7. last — finally
  8. chair — a leader
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wake — a trail
  14. band — a ring
  15. court — of a king
  16. field — a subject
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. last — to go on
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. field — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. last — final
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. band — a rubber band

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