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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: land · patient · tube · court · saw · lean · rash · mouse

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rash — a series
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — ground
  11. court — for sport
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. court — of a king
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. lean — thin
  22. land — a country
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mouse — the animal

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