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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: leaves · can · sharp · court · mine · trunk · chest · patient

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. chest — a box
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. can — a tin
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. can — to be able to
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. chest — of your body
  24. can — a tin

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