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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.

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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: fork · content · patient · deal · season · nail · racket · court

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fork — in a road
  5. content — happy
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. court — of law
  13. content — the amount
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. court — for sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. court — of a king
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. nail — on a finger

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