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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. craft — a skill
  4. snap — to click
  5. row — a line
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — to confront
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. face — to point toward
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. face — part of the head
  15. season — of the year
  16. court — of law
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. season — in sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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