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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 120 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: field · rush · rule · court · capital · bore · press · content

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. press — to push
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — government
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. field — a subject
  20. capital — money
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bore — to drill
  24. press — newspapers

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