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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 · cell · patient · court · stick · coach

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — of a king
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chest — a box
  8. cell — in biology
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chest — of your body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. patient — a sick person

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