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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: patient · net · bear · land · clip · bound · cue · court

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cue — a hint
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. court — of law
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cue — a signal
  9. court — of a king
  10. land — a country
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bound — certain
  15. net — after costs
  16. land — to come down
  17. bound — obliged
  18. clip — a video
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. court — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — to cut

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