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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.

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 · chest · court · mark · racket · fine · patient · trunk

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — a subject
  6. mark — a trace
  7. court — of a king
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. field — farmland
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — for sport
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mark — a grade
  21. fine — high quality
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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