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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: field · court · temple · mark · chair · game · track · land

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — for sport
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. track — a song
  9. court — of law
  10. mark — a trace
  11. court — of a king
  12. track — a path
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — a country
  16. mark — a grade
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — farmland
  20. track — to keep track
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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