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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: dip · court · chip · patient · scale · cell · march · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. scale — in music
  4. march — the month
  5. dip — to sink
  6. court — of a king
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cell — a phone
  10. court — of law
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. court — for sport
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chip — for betting
  16. march — the month
  17. scale — size or range
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — music

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