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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 116 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 · charge · drill · spell · net · racket · content

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. court — of law
  3. net — after costs
  4. charge — a price
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. charge — electricity
  7. court — of a king
  8. content — the amount
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spell — letters
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. drill — a practice
  13. court — for sport
  14. charge — in control
  15. content — happy
  16. net — in sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. net — for catching
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. drill — army training
  24. racket — a loud noise

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