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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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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: fine · field · content · key · court · bat · last · craft

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. last — final
  5. fine — all right
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. last — to go on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. field — farmland
  14. last — finally
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. court — for sport
  17. key — for a lock
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. field — a subject
  24. content — happy

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