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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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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: patient · court · wound · club · cold · root · rash · cap

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. root — the cause
  9. rash — a series
  10. court — of law
  11. root — of a plant
  12. court — for sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — not warm
  19. root — of a word
  20. club — for golf
  21. wound — an injury
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cold — an illness
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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