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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · straw · key · mine · wound · court · game · coach

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — an injury
  5. key — the most important part
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — wild animals
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of a king
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. court — of law
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a kind of play

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