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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.

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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: stick · cell · field · court · row · ruler · pop · net

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. pop — music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pop — soda
  17. row — a line
  18. court — of a king
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. field — farmland
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in 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