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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: court · mark · rush · field · stock · object · kid · fall

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. object — a thing
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fall — the season
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mark — a trace
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — of a king
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. field — a subject
  24. fall — to drop

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