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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: patient · stem · court · wound · date · season · roll · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. roll — a list
  6. court — of a king
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mark — a trace
  9. roll — a cake
  10. court — for sport
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wound — an injury
  16. date — the fruit
  17. season — in sport
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. court — of law
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mark — a grade
  22. stem — to come from
  23. season — of the year
  24. patient — a sick person

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