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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: charge · date · rock · dip · court · tear · kid · field

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. court — of a king
  6. charge — electricity
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. field — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rock — a stone
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. charge — a price
  14. rock — music
  15. date — the fruit
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — child
  21. charge — in control
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — to tease

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