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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — wild animals
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a document
  14. game — a match
  15. cap — a hat
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — of ice
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a tool
  23. cap — a lid
  24. coach — a trainer

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