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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 120 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: court · patient · tear · nail · chair · stick

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. court — of law
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chair — a leader
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. court — for sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. court — of a king
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer

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