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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: staff · field · present · rash · last · spring · wind · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rash — hasty
  3. present — there
  4. spring — the season
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. last — to go on
  13. spring — a coil
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. staff — a stick
  17. field — farmland
  18. staff — employees
  19. present — a gift
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — final
  22. rash — a series
  23. present — the time now
  24. spring — of water

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