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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: race · wind · patient · court · pound · roll

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. race — the arms race
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of law
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. court — of a king
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. roll — a list
  18. pound — to hit hard

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