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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: wind · cabinet · branch · court · cap · leaves · field · patient

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. court — for sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — of law
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — a division
  13. cap — a lid
  14. field — a subject
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cap — of ice
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cap — a hat
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. wind — moving air
  23. court — of a king
  24. field — for sport

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