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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 120 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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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: game · court · can · wind · cap · field · pound · pit

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pit — in a race
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — farmland
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cap — of ice
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. game — a match
  10. court — for sport
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — wild animals
  15. can — to be able to
  16. field — a subject
  17. court — of a king
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. can — a tin
  24. pound — a weight

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