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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: date · field · court · rush · ground · hide · cabinet · mine

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. court — of a king
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — farmland
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mine — for digging
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. date — the fruit
  17. court — of law
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — crushed
  23. court — for sport
  24. mine — an explosive

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