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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: court · mate · hand · season · cabinet · patient · bulb · ground

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. court — for sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mate — a partner
  7. season — in sport
  8. court — of law
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ground — a position
  13. hand — help
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. court — of a king
  17. bulb — for light
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cabinet — ministers

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