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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: bass · game · field · object · leaves · spell · deal · court

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. object — a thing
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — a subject
  10. object — to protest
  11. spell — magic
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. field — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. bass — low music
  18. deal — to handle
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spell — a short time
  24. object — an aim

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