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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. court — of law
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lean — to bend
  5. club — a group
  6. court — for sport
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spring — a coil
  10. club — for golf
  11. lean — thin
  12. cell — in biology
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spring — of water
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. spring — the season
  21. club — for dancing
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — of a king

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