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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: kid · court · cell · charge · object · patient

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. court — of law
  4. object — an aim
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — child
  7. charge — electricity
  8. court — for sport
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. charge — a price
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. charge — in control

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