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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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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: present · key · mouse · rest · court · object · field · cell

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. object — a thing
  5. field — farmland
  6. key — the most important part
  7. object — to protest
  8. present — a gift
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. field — a subject
  14. cell — in biology
  15. key — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. cell — a phone
  18. field — for sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. court — for sport
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. key — for a lock

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