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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. firm — steady
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. season — in sport
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a line
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. firm — decided
  15. row — to paddle
  16. firm — a company
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. season — of the year
  21. court — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — music
  24. bat — for baseball

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