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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ground — a position
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. court — of law
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lean — thin
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. court — for sport
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fork — a garden tool

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