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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: patient · court · ball · pitcher · racket · field · band · club

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. club — a group
  4. band — a ring
  5. ball — a great time
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. court — of a king
  11. club — for dancing
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. club — for golf
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. band — a music group
  24. pitcher — a jug

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