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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 · cold · club · leaves · bass · stand · fall

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stand — to bear
  3. court — of a king
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bass — the fish
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. club — a group
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. court — for sport
  17. fall — the season
  18. club — for golf
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bass — low music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cold — the Cold War

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