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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: fan · current · race · field · ground · court · drill · object

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. drill — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. current — happening now
  8. race — humankind
  9. drill — army training
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — to protest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. court — of a king
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — electric
  17. field — a subject
  18. current — of water
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. object — a thing
  23. race — a contest
  24. field — for 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