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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · chip · content · cold · court · patient · calf · fan

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. court — of a king
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. net — for catching
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. chip — to eat
  11. court — of law
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. content — happy
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. net — in sport
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chip — for betting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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