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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 120 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: patient · field · kid · game · foot · root · pitcher · court

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. root — the cause
  5. field — a subject
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. court — of law
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. root — of a word
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. field — farmland
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. root — of a plant
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of a king
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — to tease

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