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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: branch · court · rash · ball · sharp · march · cap · patient

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cap — a hat
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. court — of a king
  6. branch — a division
  7. sharp — clever
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. ball — a dance
  13. court — of law
  14. cap — of ice
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cap — a lid
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. rash — a series
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. march — music
  24. court — for sport

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