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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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Word bank
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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: pit · patient · lean · object · net · court

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. court — of a king
  5. net — for catching
  6. pit — in a race
  7. object — a thing
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — after costs
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. net — in sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. pit — a hole
  15. court — of law
  16. object — an aim
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. court — for sport

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