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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: field · patient · band · race · court · bear · perch · deal

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. court — of law
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — a contest
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. court — for sport
  14. deal — to handle
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — a subject
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. field — for sport
  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