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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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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 · field · press · pound · cap · hide

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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. field — for sport
  4. press — to push
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. court — for sport
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cap — a lid
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. court — of law
  17. press — a publisher
  18. hide — to keep secret

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