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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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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: court · patient · mine · straw · dip · ball · deal · hand

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — help
  17. court — of a king
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. dip — to sink
  20. court — of law
  21. deal — to handle
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ball — a great time
  24. straw — a straw man

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