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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. game — a match
  6. bear — the animal
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bear — the animal
  9. drill — a practice
  10. court — of law
  11. drill — army training
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mark — a trace
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. drill — the tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. field — a subject
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. row — a line
  24. field — farmland

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