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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: rush · court · bass · fork · patient · rule

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. court — of a king
  4. rule — government
  5. bass — low music
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. court — for sport
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fork — in a road
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. court — of law
  18. rule — a law

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