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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cell · scale · chest · file · current · field · court · ball

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. field — a subject
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. field — farmland
  8. court — for sport
  9. current — electric
  10. court — of law
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. file — a document
  17. current — happening now
  18. court — of a king
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. ball — a round shape

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