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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 116 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: staff · rest · row · bat · key · field · ground · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — the most important part
  4. row — to paddle
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rest — what's left
  7. key — for a lock
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. field — a subject
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — farmland
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — a line
  17. court — of a king
  18. key — in music
  19. court — for sport
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rest — what's left
  23. staff — employees
  24. field — for sport

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