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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: branch · mine · pass · file · field · pitcher · patient · court

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. field — farmland
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. field — a subject
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a tool
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. court — of a king
  22. branch — a division
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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