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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: patient · bore · tear · court · capital · club · kid · tube

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. club — for golf
  4. bore — to tire
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — child
  8. bore — to drill
  9. capital — money
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tear — to rip
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — a group
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — a city
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — a container
  19. court — for sport
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tube — the underground
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. club — for dancing

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