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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · date · bore · scale · content · field · court · season

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. season — of the year
  5. field — farmland
  6. season — in sport
  7. scale — in music
  8. court — of law
  9. scale — size or range
  10. content — happy
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. court — for sport
  15. date — the fruit
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — to drill
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. content — the amount
  20. field — a subject
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. court — of a king

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