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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.

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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: field · ball · patient · content · pass · object · court · game

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ball — a great time
  6. object — a thing
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. court — of a king
  9. object — to protest
  10. content — the amount
  11. field — a subject
  12. pass — a permit
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. court — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. game — a match
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — of law
  24. object — an aim

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