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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fork — in a road
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — a coil
  13. court — of law
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — of water
  21. march — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fine — all right
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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