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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 116 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: current · rule · cell · row · patient · court

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. current — happening now
  3. rule — government
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cell — in biology
  10. row — to paddle
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. rule — a law
  17. row — a line
  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