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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: fall · deal · stick · field · saw · patient · court · bore

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. court — of a king
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fall — the season
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — a subject
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. field — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. court — for sport

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