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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: wake · racket · cabinet · pound · patient · chest · fan · court

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. chest — a box
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. court — of a king
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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