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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · patient · bat · court · tear · kick

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — to rip
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kick — with a leg

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