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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · ground · cell · craft · game · wake · chair · court

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of law
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — for sport
  7. cell — in biology
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ground — the earth
  10. craft — a skill
  11. field — a subject
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. field — for sport
  14. game — a match
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ground — a position
  17. wake — a trail
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. court — of a king
  20. craft — boats
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chair — to sit on

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