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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · court · ground · field · craft · swing

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. ground — the earth
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ground — a position
  6. content — happy
  7. swing — in golf
  8. field — a subject
  9. craft — a skill
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — the amount
  18. field — for sport

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