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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 116 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: swing · shower · court · fall · field · tear · patient · firm

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fall — to drop
  3. firm — decided
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tear — from crying
  7. court — of a king
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — rain
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — a company
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. swing — music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. court — for sport
  20. swing — to play on
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — to rip
  24. swing — in golf

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