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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
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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: court · chest · tear · patient · game · ball · mark · cabinet

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a great time
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — for sport
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — a match
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mark — a grade

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