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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: court · fork · squash · mark · spell · field · cabinet · coach

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — magic
  4. field — for sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. squash — the sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mark — a trace
  14. squash — to crush
  15. spell — letters
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. court — of law
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spell — a short time
  21. field — farmland
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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