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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 116 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: band · fan · patient · face · racket · ground · stem · court

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. court — of law
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ground — crushed
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. ground — the earth
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. court — for sport
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. court — of a king
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ground — a position
  24. face — to confront

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