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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: press · court · band · season · patient · fan · deal · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. band — a ring
  3. object — an aim
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. object — a thing
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. court — for sport
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. court — of a king
  10. press — a publisher
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. press — to push
  15. season — of the year
  16. band — a music group
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. court — of law
  21. deal — to handle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. press — newspapers
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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