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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: pop · court · stick · capital · spell · cue · track · field

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. field — a subject
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pop — music
  5. cue — a signal
  6. capital — money
  7. court — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. spell — letters
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pop — soda
  13. track — a path
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. cue — for pool
  17. court — of law
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pop — to visit

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