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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: deal · wake · field · mug · row · court · hand · capital

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. court — of a king
  3. deal — to handle
  4. row — a line
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. capital — a city
  12. row — to paddle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. mug — a face
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — help
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. field — for sport
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. mug — to rob
  22. court — of law
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. hand — in cards

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