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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: season · key · ground · stock · calf · cap · field · court

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. ground — crushed
  4. court — for sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. field — farmland
  8. court — of law
  9. field — for sport
  10. stock — shares
  11. season — of the year
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stock — goods
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. court — of a king
  19. field — a subject
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cap — a hat
  22. key — in music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. season — in sport

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