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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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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. court — of a king
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tube — a container
  8. key — in music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. court — of law
  11. stock — goods
  12. key — the most important part
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stock — shares
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hide — to keep secret

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