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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 · lie · chest · spell · race · field · foot · track

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — of your body
  3. court — of law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — a short time
  7. race — the arms race
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. lie — to recline
  10. race — a contest
  11. spell — letters
  12. race — humankind
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. spell — magic
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. foot — a measure
  21. track — a path
  22. chest — a box
  23. court — for sport
  24. foot — the bottom

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