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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 · pit · tube · deal · season · wind · root · patient

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. court — of a king
  6. pit — in a race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. season — of the year
  10. root — of a word
  11. court — of law
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pit — a hole
  14. court — for sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. tube — a container
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. root — of a plant
  22. season — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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