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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: stem · court · charge · spring · pound · patient · band · field

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. spring — a coil
  3. charge — in control
  4. court — for sport
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. band — a ring
  7. charge — electricity
  8. field — farmland
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. court — of law
  14. charge — a price
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. field — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stem — to come from
  22. court — of a king
  23. spring — of water
  24. stem — of a plant

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