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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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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: tube · cell · wind · court · racket · season · vault · patient

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — of law
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. vault — a safe
  6. court — for sport
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in biology
  13. season — of the year
  14. court — of a king
  15. tube — the underground
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. racket — for tennis
  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