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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: patient · chest · tube · staff · spring · court · can · wake

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. court — of a king
  3. chest — a box
  4. staff — a stick
  5. can — a tin
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. can — to be able to
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spring — the season
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wake — a trail
  19. staff — employees
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — of law
  23. staff — employees
  24. can — a tin

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