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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.

Make a worksheet

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: field · sharp · chair · land · stand · rest · patient · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — to come down
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. court — of a king
  12. chair — a leader
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. sharp — clever
  15. field — farmland
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. rest — a break

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