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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: court · branch · patient · band · coach · bowl · wind · perch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a ring
  10. court — for sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. court — of a king
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. branch — a division
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a music group

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