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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: court · pitcher · patient · kick · perch · fine · clip · hand

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. kick — in football
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fine — high quality
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hand — in cards
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. court — of a king
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fine — all right
  19. court — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. clip — a video
  23. kick — a thrill
  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