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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: board · court · patient · cell · branch · rest · fall · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cell — in biology
  4. branch — a division
  5. court — of law
  6. board — to get on
  7. fall — to drop
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fall — the season
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. court — of a king
  15. rest — what's left
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rest — a break
  19. fall — to drop
  20. board — a committee
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. court — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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