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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. court — of a king
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. tube — the underground
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — of law
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. face — to point toward
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pass — a permit
  15. face — to confront
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cold — not warm
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — an illness

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