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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 · court · cell · rule · swing · wake · kid · key

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rule — a law
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. kid — child
  7. key — for a lock
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. key — in music
  12. court — of a king
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. key — the most important part
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rule — government
  19. swing — in golf
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. swing — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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