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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. snap — to click
  2. court — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. field — for sport
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cue — a hint
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. field — a subject
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. court — of a king
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rock — music
  22. cue — a signal
  23. court — of law
  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