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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: field · chest · bound · current · nail · ball · court · leaves

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. court — of law
  3. field — a subject
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bound — obliged
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bound — tied together
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. bound — certain
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. current — happening now
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. current — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. chest — a box
  23. field — farmland
  24. nail — for a hammer

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