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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: chest · pound · bear · patient · court · craft

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. craft — a skill
  10. court — for sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — a box
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. craft — boats

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