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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: court · bulb · bowl · date · spell · deal · field · bat

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. court — of law
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — for sport
  7. spell — a short time
  8. field — farmland
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. spell — letters
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. field — a subject
  15. date — the fruit
  16. spell — magic
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bat — the animal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bulb — for light
  23. court — of a king
  24. bat — in an idiom

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