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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 116 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: staff · row · can · court · field · kid · fine · bass

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. court — of law
  5. staff — employees
  6. can — a tin
  7. row — a line
  8. bass — low music
  9. kid — child
  10. fine — high quality
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. can — to be able to
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. row — to paddle
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fine — all right
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — the fish
  21. can — a tin
  22. staff — a stick
  23. kid — to tease
  24. court — of a king

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