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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mine · bat · court · chest · wake · shower · key

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — a trail
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chest — a box
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. court — of a king

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