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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 · field · board · patient · clip · pop · court · swing

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. board — a committee
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. field — farmland
  12. pop — to visit
  13. field — a subject
  14. court — of law
  15. swing — to play on
  16. clip — a video
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. swing — music
  21. board — to get on
  22. court — of a king
  23. stem — to come from
  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