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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 120 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: court · band · race · present · saw · patient · drill · wind

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a ring
  5. drill — a practice
  6. present — the time now
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. present — there
  10. court — of law
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a music group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. present — a gift
  22. wind — moving air
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — to turn a key

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