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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — farmland
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — of law
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — an illness
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — a subject
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. suit — in cards
  20. cold — not warm
  21. suit — to fit
  22. court — of a king
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. suit — clothes

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