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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.

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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 · racket · row · clip · drill · patient · staff · arm

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — employees
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. drill — a practice
  8. clip — for paper
  9. staff — a stick
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. court — for sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. drill — the tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. court — of law
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. clip — to cut
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. staff — employees
  21. row — to paddle
  22. drill — army training
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. arm — part of the body

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