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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 · field · capital · roll · jam · calf · bore · spring

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. bore — to tire
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — the season
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. roll — a cake
  9. capital — a city
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — for sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. court — of a king
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. capital — money
  17. field — a subject
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — to drill
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. roll — a list

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