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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: board · hand · fork · field · ball · wake · court · wave

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. court — for sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. board — to get on
  15. court — of law
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. field — farmland
  23. board — a committee
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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