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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: root · bat · mouse · game · court · hand · stock · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. court — of a king
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. game — a match
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. hand — help
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stock — shares
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. game — wild animals
  20. root — of a plant
  21. court — for sport
  22. root — of a word
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. root — the cause

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