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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rock — music
  7. court — of law
  8. field — for sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. capital — money
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — farmland
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pop — soda

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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