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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · court · racket · net · toast · capital · march · mine

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. toast — bread
  4. field — farmland
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — in sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. capital — money
  10. march — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. capital — a city
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. net — for catching
  18. mine — for digging
  19. court — of a king
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — an explosive

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