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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 · patient · roll · season · hand · bass · field · jam

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. field — for sport
  3. roll — a cake
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of law
  6. hand — in cards
  7. roll — a list
  8. field — a subject
  9. bass — the fish
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. court — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — help
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bass — low music
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. season — in sport
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. season — of the year

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