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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: cabinet · court · rash · field · spring · saw · kick · dip

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. spring — a coil
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. field — for sport
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rash — hasty
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. field — a subject
  12. spring — the season
  13. court — of law
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. court — of a king
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kick — in football
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spring — of water
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rash — a series

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