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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 120 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: deal · field · board · court · chest · fall · march · foot

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — of a king
  5. march — the month
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — music
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. board — to get on
  12. court — of law
  13. board — a committee
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — for sport
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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