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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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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: sharp · field · land · spell · race · firm · kick · court

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. court — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — a short time
  6. land — ground
  7. firm — decided
  8. race — a contest
  9. court — of a king
  10. firm — a company
  11. field — a subject
  12. land — a country
  13. court — of law
  14. sharp — clever
  15. firm — steady
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — farmland
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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