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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: spring · toast · jam · dip · court · field · roll · race

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. field — farmland
  3. spring — the season
  4. field — a subject
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. court — of a king
  8. spring — a coil
  9. roll — a list
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. toast — bread
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — of water
  15. court — for sport
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. field — for sport
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. court — of law
  20. race — humankind
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to sink
  24. roll — a cake

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