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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. court — of a king
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — army training
  6. tube — a container
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — a practice
  13. court — of law
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. calf — a young animal

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