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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rush · scale · spring · content · chair · pitch · patient · court

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. spring — of water
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — for sport
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. content — the amount
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — of a king
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pitch — completely
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — of law
  18. spring — a coil
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chair — a leader
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. scale — size or range

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