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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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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: sharp · cap · court · field · patient · ruler · wind · pitch

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — farmland
  4. cap — a hat
  5. court — of a king
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — a subject
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. court — for sport
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — a lid

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