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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. court — of a king
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — farmland
  5. court — of law
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cold — an illness
  8. march — the month
  9. court — for sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. field — for sport
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. march — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. lash — an eyelash

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