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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: content · court · ground · field · craft · swing · bowl · perch

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. field — for sport
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. content — the amount
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. swing — in golf
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — of a king
  14. swing — to play on
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. swing — music
  19. field — a subject
  20. ground — crushed
  21. court — of law
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — for sport
  24. craft — a skill

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