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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hide · rest · file · date · foot · court · toast · field

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. rest — what's left
  6. toast — bread
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. file — a tool
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. court — of law
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a line of people
  15. foot — a measure
  16. field — a subject
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a document
  19. date — the fruit
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. rest — a break
  22. field — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. hide — animal skin

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