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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: fork · tube · chest · rule · patient · branch · file · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rule — a law
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. branch — a division
  14. fork — in a road
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. court — for sport
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — of law

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