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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: squash · wind · roll · court · cell · patient · hand · suit

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. squash — the sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. suit — clothes
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. roll — a list
  15. cell — in biology
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. hand — in cards
  19. court — of law
  20. suit — in cards
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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