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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · capital · court · cell · patient · fine

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fine — high quality
  3. capital — a city
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — of a king
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fine — all right
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. court — for sport
  14. capital — money
  15. field — a subject
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. field — for sport

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