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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: key · patient · prune · march · board · racket · rest · court

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. key — the most important part
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. key — for a lock
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. key — in music
  8. court — of law
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rest — what's left
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. march — the month
  16. board — to get on
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. board — a committee
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — what's left

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