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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. court — for sport
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. mate — to breed
  13. capital — a city
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — money
  18. mate — a partner
  19. field — farmland
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. fine — high quality
  23. mate — a friend
  24. foot — a measure

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