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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: perch · court · mine · temple · object · hand · ground · patient

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. object — to protest
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. court — of law
  8. object — an aim
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ground — the earth
  19. object — a thing
  20. ground — a position
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — help

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