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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: shower · plane · pit · hide · field · court · capital · rest

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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 — of law
  2. shower — rain
  3. field — a subject
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. plane — a tool
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — for sport
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. rest — a break
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pit — in a race
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. shower — to wash
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. field — for sport
  21. pit — a hole
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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