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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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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: chip · kid · court · stand · fall · patient · trunk · roll

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — to drop
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. court — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. fall — the season
  10. roll — a list
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stand — to bear
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. chip — to eat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chip — for betting
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. roll — a cake
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of a king

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