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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · branch · board · tear · patient · pitcher · field · court

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. branch — a division
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. court — for sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chest — a box
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chest — of your body
  24. court — of a king

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