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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 · can · ball · court · bark · straw · mug

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mug — a cup
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ball — a great time
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. field — a subject
  17. chest — a box
  18. field — for sport
  19. can — a tin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. can — to be able to
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mug — a face

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