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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: field · rock · cap · saw · firm · court · date · land

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rock — music
  3. date — the fruit
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — ground
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cap — a hat
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. firm — steady
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cap — of ice
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. land — a country

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