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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: court · face · prune · patient · lean · last · field · firm

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. court — of a king
  3. lean — thin
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. firm — decided
  7. court — of law
  8. field — farmland
  9. face — part of the head
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — a subject
  12. face — to confront
  13. prune — to trim
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. firm — steady
  16. court — for sport
  17. firm — a company
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. last — final
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lean — to bend

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