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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 116 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: band · court · key · patient · hide · content · branch · kick

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. court — for sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. key — the most important part
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. key — for a lock
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. court — of law
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. key — in music
  14. content — happy
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. band — a ring
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. court — of a king
  24. band — a music group

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