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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. field — farmland
  4. ground — crushed
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. court — of a king
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stand — to bear
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tube — the underground
  18. field — a subject
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. row — a line
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. tube — a container
  23. craft — boats
  24. row — a quarrel

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