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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: hide · chest · wind · court · rock · mark · ball · field

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. field — farmland
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rock — music
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ball — a great time
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a dance
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — a subject
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. field — for sport
  23. court — for sport
  24. mark — to pay attention

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