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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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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 · game · race · vault · court · pitch · date · chest

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — the arms race
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. game — a match
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. race — humankind
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. vault — a safe
  18. chest — a box
  19. race — a contest
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. date — the fruit

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