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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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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 · content · swing · court · last · stand · rest · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rest — what's left
  3. club — a group
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of a king
  6. last — final
  7. content — happy
  8. court — for sport
  9. club — for dancing
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — to go on
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rest — a break
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. content — the amount
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — of law
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. swing — to play on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — finally
  24. swing — music

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