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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: shower · row · field · chip · rash · season · ground · court

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. season — in sport
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. court — of a king
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ground — crushed
  9. row — a line
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ground — a position
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. ground — the earth
  15. field — farmland
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. shower — to wash
  18. field — a subject
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. field — for sport

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