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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: sharp · bear · court · scale · patient · tear · rush · kid

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. sharp — clever
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rush — hurry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — child
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — of a king
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. sharp — with an edge

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