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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: court · stem · patient · season · net · track · temple · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. season — of the year
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. net — for catching
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. net — in sport
  11. season — in sport
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. court — for sport
  17. track — to keep track
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. net — after costs
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stem — to come from
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — a stem cell

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