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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 · shower · stand · tear · court · chair · fine

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. court — of law
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. field — a subject
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fine — all right
  7. stand — to bear
  8. shower — rain
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. court — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fine — high quality

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