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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: track · file · press · court · patient · field · tear · ball

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. court — of a king
  5. field — for sport
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. track — to keep track
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. press — to push
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a document
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — a song
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of law
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tear — to rip
  20. field — farmland
  21. court — for sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. track — a path

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