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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. swing — music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — for sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. land — to come down
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. court — of law
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — in golf
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. land — ground
  15. spell — letters
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lean — to bend
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spell — magic
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. field — for sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. land — a country
  24. lean — thin

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