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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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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: ground · chair · field · wound · bore · press · leaves · court

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. press — to push
  4. field — for sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — for sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. press — newspapers
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. chair — a leader
  13. field — a subject
  14. press — a publisher
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. court — of a king
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. court — of law
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bore — to drill
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bore — to tire
  24. leaves — lets stay

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