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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 120 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: bat · object · rash · patient · spring · cell · cue · court

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. rash — a series
  2. object — a thing
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. court — for sport
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. object — an aim
  8. cue — a signal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — for pool
  14. object — to protest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. court — of a king
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in biology
  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